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Buddhism - The Wings To Awakening - An Anthology From The Pali Canon PDF
Buddhism - The Wings To Awakening - An Anthology From The Pali Canon PDF
c
°1996 Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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ii
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Abbreviations ix
1 Introduction 1
1.1 The Buddha’s Awakening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 The Buddha’s Teachings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
I Basic Principles 23
2 Skillfulness 25
2.1 Passages from the Pali Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
iii
iv Contents
13 Persistence 231
14 Mindfulness 233
Glossary 387
Indexes 393
Bibliography 409
vi Contents
Acknowledgments
This book has been several years in the making. In the course of assem-
bling it, I have used some of the material it contains to lead study courses at
the Barre Center of Buddhist Studies, Barre, Massachusetts; at Awareness
Grove, Laguna Beach, California; with the Insight Meditation Society of Or-
ange County; with the San Diego Vipassana Community; and with the Open
Door Sangha of Santa Barbara. The feedback coming from the participants
in these courses has been very helpful in forcing me to clarify the presentation
and to make explicit the connections between the words and their applica-
tion in practice. It has been encouraging to see that people in America –
contrary to their reputation in other parts of the world – are interested in
learning authentic Buddhist teachings and integrating them into their lives.
This encouragement is what has given me the impetus to turn this material
into a book.
In addition to the participants at the above courses, Dorothea Bowen,
John Bullitt, Jim Colfax, Charles Hallisey, Karen King, Mu Soeng, Andrew
Olendzki, Gregory M. Smith, and Jane Yudelman have read and offered
valuable comments on earlier incarnations of the manuscript. John Bullitt
also helped with the Index. The finished book owes a great deal to all of these
people. Any mistakes that remain, of course, are my own responsibility.
I dedicate this book to all of my teachers, and in particular to Phra Ajaan
Lee Dhammadharo, the teacher of my primary teacher, Phra Ajaan Fuang
Jotiko. The example of Ajaan Lee’s life has had a large influence on my own,
in more ways than I can ever really repay. His teaching of the Buddhist path
as a skill – as expressed in the Wings to Awakening and embodied in the
practice of breath meditation – provided the original and on-going inspiration
for writing this book. I offer it to his memory with the highest respect.
– Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Metta Forest Monastery
vii
viii Acknowledgments
P. O. Box 1409
Valley Center, CA 92082
Abbreviations
ix
x Abbreviations
xi
xii Preface: How to Read This Book
release.
Thus the organization of the book is somewhat circular. As with any
circle, there are several points where the book can be entered. I would rec-
ommend two to begin with. The first is to read straight through the book
from beginning to end, gaining a systematic framework for the material from
Parts I (Part I) and II (Part II), which explain why the seven sets are or-
ganized as they are, and then focusing more on individual elements in the
sets in Part III (Part III). This way of approaching the material has the
advantage of giving an overall perspective on the topic before going into the
details, making the role and meaning of the details clear from the start. How-
ever, this approach is the reverse of what actually happens in the practice.
A practicing meditator must learn first to focus on individual phenomena in
and of themselves, and then, through observation and experimentation, to
discover their inter-relationships. For this reason, some readers – especially
those who find the discussion of causal relationships in Parts I (Part I) and
II (Part II) too abstract to be helpful – may prefer to skip from the Introduc-
tion (Chapter 1) straight to sections A (Part III) through E (Section 15.1)
of Part III (Part III), to familiarize themselves with teachings that may con-
nect more directly with their own experience. They may then return later to
Parts I (Part I) and II (Part II) to gain a more overall perspective on how
the practice is meant to deal with those experiences.
Regardless of which approach you take to the material, you should dis-
cover fairly quickly that the relationships among the overall patterns and
individual elements in the Wings are very complex. This complexity reflects
the non-linear nature of the Buddha’s teachings on causal relationships, and
is reflected in the many cross-references among the various parts of the book.
In this way, the structure of this book, instead of being a simple circle, is
actually a pattern of many loops within loops. Thus a third way to read it
– for those familiar enough with the material to want to explore unexpected
connections – would be to follow the cross-references to see where they lead.
Parts I-III of the book are each divided into sections consisting of pas-
sages translated from discourses in the Pali Canon, which is apparently the
earliest extant record of the Buddha’s teachings. Each section is introduced,
where necessary, with an essay. These essays are printed in sans serif type
to distinguish them clearly from the translated passages. They are attempts
to provide context – and thus meaning – for the passages, to show how they
relate to one another, to specific issues in the practice, and to the path of
practice as a whole. They are not meant to anticipate or answer every pos-
xiii
sible question raised by the passages. Instead, they are aimed at giving an
idea of the kinds of questions that can be most fruitfully brought to the pas-
sages, so that the lessons contained in the passages can properly be applied
to the practice. As the Buddha has pointed out, the attitude of “appropriate
attention” (yoniso manasikara), the ability to focus on the right questions,
is one of the most important skills to develop in the course of the practice.
This skill is much more fruitful than an attitude that tries to come to the
practice armed with all the right answers in advance.
The context provided by the essays is threefold: doctrinal, i.e., placing
the passages within the structure of the Buddha’s teachings taken as a whole;
historical, i.e., relating them to what is known of the intellectual and social
history of the Buddha’s time; and practical, i.e., applying them to the actual
practice of the Buddhist path in the present.
The first and foremost sources for the doctrinal context are the discourses
in the Canon itself. The Buddha and his noble disciples are by far the most
reliable guides to the meaning of their own words. Often a teaching that
seems vague or confusing when encountered on its own in a single discourse
becomes clearer when viewed in the context of several discourses that treat
it from a variety of angles, just as it is easier to get a sense of a building
from a series of pictures taken from different perspectives than from a single
snapshot. This approach to understanding the discourses is instructive not
only when discourse x explicitly defines a term mentioned in discourse y, but
also when patterns of imagery and terminology permeate many passages.
Two cases in point: In separate contexts, the discourses compare suffering to
fire, and the practice of training the mind in meditation to the art of tuning
and playing a musical instrument. In each case, technical terms – from
physics in the first instance, from music theory in the second – are applied
to the mind in a large number of contexts. Thus it is helpful to understand
where the terms are coming from in order to grasp their connotations and to
gain an intuitive sense – based on our own familiarity with fire and music –
of what they mean.
In a few instances, I have cited alternative versions of the discourses –
such as those contained in the Sarvastivadin Canon preserved in Chinese
translation – to throw light on passages in the Pali. Although the Sarvas-
tivadin Canon as a whole seems to be later than the Pali, there is no way
of knowing whether particular Sarvastivadin discourses are earlier or later
than their Pali counterparts, so the comparisons drawn between the two are
intended simply as food for thought.
xiv Preface: How to Read This Book
it will only be a matter of time before the terminology of more recent science
will percolate into everyday language. For the purpose of this book, it is
important to point out that when the Buddha talked about causality, his
notion of causal relations did not correspond to our ordinary, linear, picture
of causal chains. If this point is not grasped, the common tendency is to
judge the Buddha’s descriptions of causality against our own and to find them
either confusing or confused. Viewing them in the light of deterministic chaos
theory, however, helps us to see that they are both coherent and of practical
use.
Another example of an analogy drawn from modern science is the term
“holographic,” which I have used to describe some formulations of the Bud-
dhist path. When a hologram is made of an object, an image of the entire
object – albeit fairly fuzzy – can be made from even small fragments of the
hologram. In the same way, some formulations of the path contain a rough
version of the entire path complete in each individual step. In my search for
an adjective to describe such formulations, “holographic” seemed the best
choice.
If you are unfamiliar with the terminology of phenomenology, chaos the-
ory, and holograms, read section I/A (Section I), on skillfulness, to find the
doctrinal context in which these terms can be related to an immediate ex-
perience: the process of developing a skill. The approach of phenomenology
relates to the fact that, on the night of his Awakening, the Buddha focused
his attention directly on the mental process of developing skillful states in the
mind, without referring to who or what was developing the skill, or to whether
there was a substratum of some sort underlying the process. Chaos theory
relates to the patterns of causality that the Buddha discerned while observing
this process, whereby the effects of action can in turn become causal factors
influencing new action. Holography relates to his discovery that skillfulness
is developed by taking clusters of good qualities already present in the mind
and using them to strengthen one another each step along the way. Once
these familiar reference points are understood, the abstract terms describing
them should become less foreign and more helpful.
In providing doctrinal, historical, and practical context based on all the
above-mentioned sources, the essays are meant to give an entry into the
mental horizons and landscape of the texts they introduce. They are also
meant to suggest how the texts may be used for their intended purpose: to
help eliminate obstacles to the release of the mind. Although some of the
essays address controversial questions, the textual passages are not meant
xvii
to prove the points made in the essays. In assembling this anthology, I first
gathered and translated the passages from the Canon, and then provided the
essays after contemplating what I had gathered. For this reason, any reader
who disagrees with the positions presented in the essays should still find the
translations useful for his/her own purposes. I am painfully aware that some
of the essays, especially those in Part I, tend to overpower the material they
are designed to introduce, but this is because the themes in Part I play a
pervasive role in the Buddha’s teachings as a whole. Thus I had to deal
with them in considerable detail to point out how they relate not only to the
passages in Part I, but also to themes raised in the rest of the book.
Although the essays should go far toward familiarizing the reader with
the conceptual world and relevance of the textual passages, there are other
aspects of the passages that might prove daunting to the uninitiated, and so
I would like to deal with them here.
To begin with, the teachings on the Wings to Awakening are interrelated
in very complex ways. Because books must be arranged in linear sequence,
taking one thing at a time in a row, this means that no book can do justice
to all the side avenues and underground passageways that connect elements
in one set of teachings to those in another. For this reason, I have organized
the material in line with the order of the sets as given in the Canon, but
– as mentioned above – have extensively cross-referenced it for the sake of
readers who want to explore connections that fall outside the linear pattern.
Cross-references are given in brackets [], and take three forms. An example
that looks like this – [§123] – is a reference to a passage from the Pali Canon
translated in this book. One that looks like this – [III/E (Section 15.1)] – is a
reference to an essay introducing a section, in this case Section E in Part III
(Section 15.1). One that looks like this – [MN 107[82]] – is a reference to a
passage from the Pali Canon not translated here. The abbreviations used in
these last references are explained on the Abbreviations page. Many passages
falling in this last category are translated in my book, The Mind Like Fire
Unbound[150], in which case the reference will include the abbreviation MFU
followed by the number of the page on which the passage is located in that
book. My hope is that these cross-references will open up useful lines of
thought to whoever takes the time to explore them.
Another potential difficulty for the uninitiated reader lies in the style of
the passages. The Pali Canon was, for 500 years, an entirely oral tradition.
As a result, it tends to be terse in some areas and repetitive in others. I’ve
made an effort to cut out as many of the repetitions as possible, but I’ll have
xviii Preface: How to Read This Book
to ask your patience for those that remain. Think of them as the refrains
in a piece of music. Also, when the Buddha is referring to monks doing this
and that, keep in mind that his audience was frequently composed entirely
of monks. The commentaries state that the word “monk” includes anyone
– male or female, lay or ordained – who is serious about the practice, and
this meaning should always be kept in mind. I apologize for the gender bias
in the translations. Although I have tried to figure out ways to minimize it,
I find myself stymied because it is so thoroughly embedded in a literature
originally addressed to monks.
I trust, however, that none of these difficulties will prove insurmountable,
and that you will find, as I have, that the teachings of the Pali Canon more
than reward the effort put into exploring them. The reality of the Wings to
Awakening lies in the qualities of the mind. The words with which they are
expressed in the Pali Canon are simply pointers. These pointers have to be
tested in the light of serious practice, but my conviction is that, of all the
meditation teachers the human race has ever seen, the Buddha is still the
best. His words should be read repeatedly, reflectively, and put to test in
the practice. My hope in gathering his teachings in this way is that they
will give you useful insights for training the mind so that someday you won’t
have to read about Awakening, but will be able to know it for yourself.
A Table of the Wings to
Awakening
1. Remaining focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful
– putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
3. Remaining focused on the mind in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful
– putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
xix
xx A Table of the Wings to Awakening
2. Right resolve(samma-sankappa).
3. Right speech(samma-vaca).
4. Right action(samma-kammanta).
5. Right livelihood(samma-ajiva).
6. Right effort(samma-vayama).
7. Right mindfulness(samma-sati).
8. Right concentration(samma-samadhi).
Persistence
Mindfulness
Concentration
Discernment
Introduction
The Wings to Awakening constitute the Buddha’s own list of his most im-
portant teachings. Toward the end of his life, he stated several times that
as long as the teachings in this list were remembered and put into practice,
his message would endure. Thus the Wings constitute, in the Buddha’s eyes,
the words and skills most worth mastering and passing along to others.
1
2 Chapter 1. Introduction
I had three palaces: one for the cold season, one for the hot
season, one for the rainy season. During the four months of the
rainy season I was entertained in the rainy-season palace by min-
strels without a single man among them, and I did not once come
down from the palace. Whereas the servants, workers, & retain-
ers in other people’s homes are fed meals of lentil soup & broken
rice, in my father’s home the servants, workers, & retainers were
fed wheat, rice, & meat.
Even though I was endowed with such fortune, such total re-
finement, the thought occurred to me: "When an untaught, run-
of-the-mill person, himself subject to aging, not beyond aging,
sees another who is aged, he is horrified, humiliated, & disgusted,
oblivious to himself that he too is subject to aging, not beyond
aging. If I – who am subject to aging, not beyond aging – were
to be horrified, humiliated, & disgusted on seeing another per-
son who is aged, that would not be fitting for me." As I noticed
this, the [typical] young person’s intoxication with youth entirely
dropped away.
Even though I was endowed with such fortune, such total re-
finement, the thought occurred to me: "When an untaught, run-
of-the-mill person, himself subject to illness, not beyond illness,
sees another who is ill, he is horrified, humiliated, & disgusted,
oblivious to himself that he too is subject to illness, not beyond
illness. And if I – who am subject to illness, not beyond illness
– were to be horrified, humiliated, & disgusted on seeing another
person who is ill, that would not be fitting for me." As I no-
ticed this, the healthy person’s intoxication with health entirely
dropped away.
Even though I was endowed with such fortune, such total re-
finement, the thought occurred to me: "When an untaught, run-
of-the-mill person, himself subject to death, not beyond death,
sees another who is dead, he is horrified, humiliated, & disgusted,
oblivious to himself that he too is subject to death, not beyond
death. And if I – who am subject to death, not beyond death
– were to be horrified, humiliated, & disgusted on seeing an-
other person who is dead, that would not be fitting for me." As
I noticed this, the living person’s intoxication with life entirely
dropped away.
1.1. The Buddha’s Awakening 3
– AN III.38[4]
Vedas, early Indian religious and ritual texts that provided the orthodox
beliefs of the old order; and other, unorthodox groups, called the Samanas
(contemplatives), who questioned the authority of the Vedas. Modern ety-
mology derives the word Samana from "striver," but the etymology of the
time derived it from sama, which means to be "on pitch" or "in tune." The
Samana philosophers were trying to find a way of life and thought that was
in tune, not with social conventions, but with the laws of nature as these
could be directly contemplated through scientific observation, personal ex-
perience, reason, meditation, or shamanic practices, such as the pursuit of
altered states of consciousness through fasting or other austerities. Many
of these forms of contemplation required that one abandon the constraints
and responsibilities of the home life, and take up the life of a homeless wan-
derer. This was the rationale behind Prince Siddhattha’s decision to leave
the home life in order to see if there might be a true happiness beyond the
sway of aging, illness, and death.
Already by his time, philosophers of the Vedic and Samana schools had
developed widely differing interpretations of what the laws of nature were
and how they affected the pursuit of true happiness. Their main points of
disagreement were two:
1) Survival beyond death. Most Vedic and Samana philosophers assumed
that a person’s identity extended beyond this lifetime, aeons before birth back
into the past and after death on into the future, although there was some
disagreement as to whether one’s identity from life to life would change or
remain the same. The Vedas had viewed rebirth in a positive light, but by the
time of Prince Siddhattha the influence of the newly discovered astronomical
cycles had led those who believed in rebirth to regard the cycles as pointless
and restrictive, and release as the only possibility for true happiness. There
was, however, a Samana school of hedonist materialists, called Lokayatans,
who denied the existence of any identity beyond death and insisted that
happiness could be found only by indulging in sensual pleasures here and
now.
2) Causality. Most philosophers accepted the idea that human action
played a causative role in providing for one’s future happiness both in this
life and beyond. Views about how this causal principle worked, though,
differed from school to school. For some Vedists, the only effective action
was ritual. The Jains, a Samana school, taught that all action fell under
linear, deterministic causal laws and formed a bond to the recurring cycle.
Present experience, they said, came from past actions; present actions would
1.1. The Buddha’s Awakening 5
shape future experience. This linear causality was also materialistic: physical
action created asavas (effluents, fermentations) – sticky substances on the
soul that kept it attached to the cycle. According to them, the only escape
from the cycle lay in a life of non-violence and inaction, culminating in a slow
suicide by starvation, which would burn the asavas away, thus releasing the
soul. Some Upanishads – post-Vedic speculative texts – expressed causality
as a morally neutral, purely physical process of evolution. Others stated that
moral laws were intrinsic to the nature of causality, rather than being mere
social conventions, and that the morality of an action determined how it
affected one’s future course in the round of rebirth. Whether these last texts
were composed before or after the Buddha taught this view, though, no one
knows. At any rate, all pre-Buddhist thinkers who accepted the principle of
causality, however they expressed it, saw it as a purely linear process.
On the other side of the issue, the Lokayatans insisted that no causal
principle acted between events, and that all events were spontaneous and
self-caused. This meant that actions had no consequences, and one could
safely ignore moral rules in one’s pursuit of sensual pleasure. One branch
of another Samana school, the Ajivakas, insisted that causality was illusory.
The only truly existent things, they said, were the unchanging substances
that formed the building blocks of the universe. Because causality implied
change, it was therefore unreal. As a result, human action had no effect on
anything of any substance – including happiness – and so was of no account.
Another branch of the same school, which specialized in astrology, insisted
that causality was real but totally deterministic. Human life was entirely
determined by impersonal, amoral fate, written in the stars; human action
played no role in providing for one’s happiness or misery; morality was purely
a social convention. Thus they insisted that release from the round of rebirth
came only when the round worked itself out. Peace of mind could be found
by accepting one’s fate and patiently waiting for the cycle, like a ball of string
unwinding, to come to its end.
These divergent viewpoints formed the intellectual backdrop for Prince
Siddhattha’s quest for ultimate happiness. In fact, his Awakening may be
seen as his own resolution of these two issues.
The Pali Canon records several different versions of the Buddha’s own
descriptions of his Awakening. These descriptions are among the earliest
extended autobiographical accounts in human history. The Buddha presents
himself as an explorer and experimenter – and an exceedingly brave one at
that, putting his life on the line in the search for an undying happiness. After
6 Chapter 1. Introduction
trying several false paths, including formless mental absorptions and physical
austerities, he happened on the path that eventually worked: bringing the
mind into the present by focusing it on the breath, and then making a calm,
mindful analysis of the processes of the mind as they presented themselves
directly to his immediate awareness. Seeing these processes as inconstant,
stressful, and not-self, he abandoned his sense of identification with them.
This caused them to disband, and what remained was Deathlessness (amata-
dhamma), beyond the dimensions of time and space. This was the happiness
for which he had been seeking.
In one passage of the Pali Canon [§188], the Buddha noted that what he
had come to realize in the course of his Awakening could be compared to the
leaves of an entire forest; what he taught to others was like a mere handful
of leaves. The latter part comprised the essential points for helping others to
attain Awakening themselves. The part he had kept back would have been
useless for that purpose. Thus, when we discuss the Buddha’s Awakening,
we must keep in mind that we know only a small sliver of the total event.
However, the sliver we do know is designed to aid in our own Awakening.
That is the part we will focus on here, keeping the Buddha’s purpose for
teaching it constantly in mind.
When the Buddha later analyzed the process of Awakening, he stated
that it consisted of two kinds of knowledge:
First there is the knowledge of the regularity of the Dhamma,
after which there is the knowledge of Unbinding.
– SN XII.70[111]
The regularity of the Dhamma, here, denotes the causal principle that
underlies all "fabricated" (sankhata) experience, i.e., experience made up of
causal conditions and influences. Knowing this principle means mastering
it: One can not only trace the course of causal processes but also escape
from them by skillfully letting them disband. The knowledge of Unbinding
is the realization of total freedom that comes when one has disbanded the
causal processes of the realm of fabrication, leaving the freedom from causal
influences that is termed the "Unfabricated." The Buddha’s choice of the
word Unbinding (nibbana) – which literally means the extinguishing of a
fire – derives from the way the physics of fire was viewed at his time. As
fire burned, it was seen as clinging to its fuel in a state of entrapment and
agitation. When it went out, it let go of its fuel, growing calm and free. Thus
when the Indians of his time saw a fire going out, they did not feel that they
1.1. The Buddha’s Awakening 7
• insight into the death and rebirth of beings throughout the cosmos,
and
The first two insights were not the exclusive property of the Buddhist tra-
dition. Shamanic traditions throughout the world have reported seers who
have had similar insights. The third insight, however, went beyond shaman-
ism into a phenomenology of the mind, i.e., a systematic account of phenom-
ena as they are directly experienced. This insight was exclusively Buddhist,
although it was based on the previous two. Because it was multi-faceted,
the Canon describes it from a variety of standpoints, stressing different as-
pects as they apply to specific contexts. In the course of this book, we too
will explore specific facets of this insight from different angles. Here we will
simply provide a general outline to show how the principle of skillful kamma
underlay the main features of this insight.
The Bodhisatta’s realization in his second insight that kamma determines
how beings fare in the round of rebirth caused him to focus on the question of
kamma in his third insight. And, because the second insight pointed to right
and wrong views as the factors determining the quality of kamma, he looked
into the possibility that kamma was primarily a mental process, rather than
a physical one, as the Vedists and Jains taught. As a result, he focused on
8 Chapter 1. Introduction
the mental kamma that was taking place at that very moment in his mind,
to understand the process more clearly. In particular, he wanted to see if
there might be a type of right view that, instead of continuing the round of
rebirth, would bring release from it. To do this, he realized that he would
have to make his powers of discernment more skillful; this meant that the
process of developing skillfulness would have to be the kamma that he would
observe.
Now, in the process of developing a skill, two major assumptions are
made: that there is a causal relationship between acts and their results,
and that good results are better than bad. If these assumptions were not
valid, there would be no point in developing a skill. The Bodhisatta noticed
that this point of view provided two variables – causes and results, and
favorable and unfavorable – that divided experience into four categories,
which he later formulated as the four noble truths (ariya-sacca): stress, its
origination, its cessation, and the path to its cessation [§189]. Each category,
he further realized, entailed a duty. Stress had to be comprehended, its cause
abandoned, its disbanding realized, and the path to its cessation developed
[§195].
In trying to comprehend stress and its relationship to kamma, the Bod-
hisatta discovered that, contrary to the teachings of the Jains, kamma was
not something extrinsic to the cycle of rebirth that bound one to the cycle.
Rather, (1) the common cycle of kamma, result, and reaction was the cycle of
rebirth in and of itself, and (2) the binding agent in the cycle was not kamma
itself, but rather an optional part of the reaction to the results of kamma.
The Bodhisatta analyzed the cycle of kamma, result, and reaction into the
following terms: kamma is intention; its result, feeling; the reaction to that
feeling, perception and attention – i.e., attention to perceptions about the
feeling – which together form the views that color further intentions. If per-
ception and attention are clouded by ignorance, craving, and clinging, they
lead to stress and further ignorance, and form the basis for intentions that
keep the cycle in motion. In his later teachings, the Buddha identified these
clouding factors – forms of clinging, together with their resultant states of
becoming and ignorance [§227] – as the asavas or effluents that act as binding
agents to the cycle. In this way, he took a Jain term and gave it a new mean-
ing, mental rather than physical. At the same time, his full scale analysis of
the interaction between kamma and the effluents formed one of the central
points of his teaching, termed dependent co-arising (paticca-samuppada)
[§§211, 218, 231].
1.1. The Buddha’s Awakening 9
could do. When all residual attachments even to these subtle realizations
were let go, there thus followed a state called non-fashioning, in which the
mind made absolutely no present input into experience. With no present
input to maintain experience of time and the present, the cycle of fabricated
experience disbanded. This formed an opening to the Unfabricated, the
undying happiness that the Bodhisatta, now the Buddha, had sought. This
was the knowledge of Unbinding, or total release.
the ending of the mental effluents. The mastery of causality that formed the
heart of this insight thus formed the heart of his teaching, with the first two
insights providing the background against which the teachings were to be
put into practice.
As we noted above, the three insights taken together provided answers to
the questions that had provoked Prince Siddhattha’s quest for Awakening in
the first place. His remembrance of previous lives showed on the one hand
that death is not annihilation, but on the other hand that there is no core
identity that remains unchanged or makes steady, upward progress through
the process of rebirth. One life follows another as one dream may follow
another, with similar wide swings in one’s sense of who or where one is.
Thus there is no inherent security in the process.
The second insight – into the death and rebirth of beings throughout the
cosmos – provided part of the answer to the questions surrounding the issue
of causality in the pursuit of happiness. The primary causal factor is the
mind, and in particular the moral quality of the intentions comprising its
thoughts, words, and deeds, and the rightness of the views underlying them.
Thus moral principles are inherent in the functioning of the cosmos, rather
than being mere social conventions. For this reason, any quest for happiness
must focus on mastering the quality of the mind’s views and intentions.
The third insight – into the ending of the mental effluents – showed that
escape from the cycle of rebirth could be found, not through ritual action
or total inaction, but through the skillful development of a type of right
view that abandoned the effluents that kept the cycle of kamma, stress, and
ignorance in motion. As we have seen, this type of right view went through
three stages of refinement as the third insight progressed: the four noble
truths, dependent co-arising, and this/that conditionality. We will discuss
the first two stages in detail elsewhere in this book [III/H/i and III/H/iii].
Here we will focus on this/that conditionality, the most radical aspect of the
Buddha’s third insight. In terms of its content, it explained how past and
present intentions underlay all experience of time and the present. The truth
of this content was shown by its role in disbanding all experience of time
and the present simply by bringing present intentions to a standstill. Small
wonder, then, that this principle provided the most fundamental influence in
shaping the Buddha’s teaching.
The Buddha expressed this/that conditionality in a simple-looking for-
mula:
12 Chapter 1. Introduction
– AN X.92[38]
There are many possible ways of interpreting this formula, but only one
does justice both to the way the formula is worded and to the complex, fluid
manner in which specific examples of causal relationships are described in
the Canon. That way is to view the formula as the interplay of two causal
principles, one linear and the other synchronic, that combine to form a non-
linear pattern. The linear principle – taking (2) and (4) as a pair – connects
events, rather than objects, over time; the synchronic principle – (1) and (3)
– connects objects and events in the present moment. The two principles
intersect, so that any given event is influenced by two sets of conditions:
input acting from the past and input acting from the present. Although each
principle seems simple, the fact that they interact makes their consequences
very complex [§10]. To begin with, every act has repercussions in the present
moment together with reverberations extending into the future. Depending
on the intensity of the act, these reverberations can last for a very short or a
very long time. Thus every event takes place in a context determined by the
combined effects of past events coming from a wide range in time, together
with the effects of present acts. These effects can intensify one another, can
coexist with little interaction, or can cancel one another out. Thus, even
though it is possible to predict that a certain type of act will tend to give a
certain type of result – for example, acting on anger will lead to pain – there
is no way to predict when or where that result will make itself felt [§11].
The complexity of the system is further enhanced by the fact that both
causal principles meet at the mind. Through its views and intentions, the
mind takes a causal role in keeping both principles in action. Through its
sensory powers, it is affected by the results of the causes it has set in mo-
tion. This creates the possibility for the causal principles to feed back into
themselves, as the mind reacts to the results of its own actions. These reac-
tions can take the form of positive feedback loops, intensifying the original
input and its results, much like the howl in a speaker placed next to the
microphone feeding into it. They can also create negative feedback loops,
counteracting the original input, much like the action of a thermostat that
turns off a heater when the temperature in a room is too high, and turns it on
1.2. The Buddha’s Teachings 13
again when it gets too low. Because the results of actions can be immediate,
and the mind can then react to them immediately, these feedback loops can
at times quickly spin out of control; at other times, they may act as skillful
checks on one’s behavior. For example, a man may act out of anger, which
gives him an immediate sense of dis-ease to which he may react with further
anger, thus creating a snowballing effect. On the other hand, he may come
to understand that the anger is causing his dis-ease, and so immediately does
what he can to stop it. However, there can also be times when the results of
his past actions may obscure the dis-ease he is causing himself in the present,
so that he does not immediately react to it one way or another.
In this way, the combination of two causal principles – influences from
the past interacting with those in the immediate present – accounts for the
complexity of causal relationships as they function on the level of immediate
experience. However, the combination of the two principles also opens the
possibility for finding a systematic way to break the causal web. If causes
and effects were entirely linear, the cosmos would be totally deterministic,
and nothing could be done to escape from the machinations of the causal
process. If they were entirely synchronic, there would be no relationship from
one moment to the next, and all events would be arbitrary. The web could
break down totally or reform spontaneously for no reason at all. However,
with the two modes working together, one can learn from causal patterns
observed from the past and apply one’s insights to disentangling the same
causal patterns acting in the present. If one’s insights are true, one can then
gain freedom from those patterns.
For this reason, the principle of this/that conditionality provides an ideal
foundation, both theoretical and practical, for a doctrine of release. And,
as a teacher, the Buddha took full advantage of its implications, using it in
such a way that it accounts not only for the presentation and content of his
teachings, but also for their organization, their function, and their utility. It
even accounts for the need for the teachings and for the fact that the Buddha
was able to teach them in the first place. We will take up these points in
reverse order.
The fact of the teaching: As noted above, this/that conditionality is a
combination of two causal modes: linear activity, connecting events over
time; and synchronic causality, connecting objects in the present. The fact
that the causal principle was not totally linear accounts for the fact that
the Buddha was able to break the causal circle as soon as he had totally
comprehended it, and did not have to wait for all of his previous kamma to
14 Chapter 1. Introduction
work itself out first. The fact that the principle was not totally synchronic,
however, accounts for the fact that he survived his Awakening and lived
to tell about it. Although he created no new kamma after his Awakening,
he continued to live and teach under the influence of the kamma he had
created before his Awakening, finally passing away only when those kammic
influences totally worked themselves out. Thus the combination of the two
patterns allowed for an experience of the Unfabricated that could be survived,
opening the opportunity for the Buddha to teach others about it before his
total Unbinding.
The need for the teachings: This/that conditionality, even though it can
be expressed in a simple formula, is very complex in its working-out. As a
result, the conditions of time and the present are bewildering to most people.
This is particularly true in the process leading up to suffering and stress. As
§189 states, beings react to suffering in two ways: bewilderment and a search
for a way out. If the conditions for suffering were not so complex, it would be
the result of a simple, regular process that would not be so confusing. People
would be able to understand it without any need for outside teachings. The
fact of its actual complexity, however, explains why people find it bewildering
and, as a result of their bewilderment, have devised a wide variety of unskillful
means to escape from it: recourse to such external means as magic, ritual,
revenge, and force; and to such internal means as denial, repression, self-
hatred, and prayer. Thus the complexity of this/that conditionality accounts
for the lack of skill that people bring to their lives – creating more suffering
and stress in their attempts to escape suffering and stress – and shows that
this lack of skill is a result of ignorance. This explains the need for a teaching
that points out the true nature of the causal system operating in the world,
so that proper understanding of the system can lead people to deal with it
skillfully and actually gain the release they seek.
The utility of the teachings: The fact that this/that conditionality allows
for causal input from the present moment means that the causal process is
not totally deterministic. Although linear causality places restrictions on
what can be done and known in any particular moment, synchronic causality
allows some room for free will. Human effort can thus make a difference
in the immediate present. At the same time, the fact that the principle
of this/that conditionality is expressed in impersonal terms means that the
Buddha’s insights did not depend on any power peculiar to him personally.
As he noted in recounting his experience, the realizations he attained were
such that anyone who developed the mind to the same pitch of heedfulness,
1.2. The Buddha’s Teachings 15
ardency, and resolution and then directed it to the proper task would be able
to attain them as well [§1]. For these reasons, the act of teaching would not
be futile, because the mental qualities needed for the task of Awakening were
available to other people, who would have the freedom to develop them if
they wanted to.
The function of the teachings: As chaos theory has shown in graphic
terms, any causal system that contains three or more feedback loops can
develop into incredible complexity, with small but well-placed changes in
input tipping the balance from complex order to seeming chaos, or from
chaos to order in the twinkling of an eye. A similar observation applies
to this/that conditionality. Given the inherent complexity and instability of
such a system, a simple description of it would be futile: the complexity would
boggle the mind, and the instability would insure that any such description
would not be helpful for long. At the same time, the instability of the
system makes it imperative for anyone immersed in such a system to find
a way out, for instability threatens any true chance for lasting peace or
happiness. The complexity of the system requires that one find a reliable
analysis of the sensitive points in the system and how they can be skillfully
manipulated in a way that brings the system down from within. All of these
considerations play a role in determining the function for which the Buddha
designed his teachings. They are meant to act as a guide to skillful ways
of understanding the principles underlying the causal system, and to skillful
ways of manipulating the causal factors so as to gain freedom from them.
The concept of skillful and unskillful thoughts, words, and deeds thus plays
a central role in the teaching.
In fact, the teachings themselves are meant to function as skillful thoughts
toward the goal of Awakening. The Buddha was very clear on the point that
he did not mean for his teachings to become a metaphysical system, or for
them to be adhered to simply for the sake of their truth value. He discussed
metaphysical topics only when they could play a role in skillful behavior.
Many metaphysical questions – such as whether or not there is a soul or self,
whether or not the world is eternal, whether or not it is infinite, etc. – he
refused to answer, on the grounds that they were either counterproductive
or irrelevant to the task at hand: that of gaining escape from the stress and
suffering inherent in time and the present.
Although the Buddha insisted that all of his teachings were true – none
of his skillful means were useful fictions – they were to be put aside when
one had fully benefited from putting them into practice. In his teachings,
16 Chapter 1. Introduction
suffering from the processes of time and the present – is that the way out
is to be found by focusing directly on the processing of present experience,
for that is where the crucial issues play themselves out most clearly. Here
and now is where everything important is happening, not there and then. At
the same time, the skills that are needed to deal with these issues are skills
of the mind: proper ways of analyzing what one experiences and proper
qualities of mind to bring to the analysis to make it as clear and effective as
possible. This boils down to the proper frame of reference, the proper quality
of awareness, and the proper mode of analysis. These are precisely the topics
covered in the Wings to Awakening, although as one’s skill develops, they
coalesce: The quality of awareness itself becomes the frame of reference and
the object to which the analysis is applied.
The presentation of the teaching: Because the Buddha’s listeners were
already caught in the midst of the web of this/that conditionality, he had to
present his message in a way that spoke to their condition. This meant that
he had to be sensitive both to the linear effects of past kamma that might
either prevent or support the listener’s ability to benefit from the teaching,
and to the listener’s current attitudes and concerns. A person whose adverse
past kamma prevented Awakening in this lifetime might benefit from a more
elementary teaching that would put him/her in a better position to gain
Awakening in a future lifetime. Another person’s past kamma might open
the possibility for Awakening in this lifetime, but his/her present attitude
might have to be changed before he/she was willing to accept the teaching.
A second complication entailed by the principle of this/that conditionality
is that it has to be known and mastered at the level of direct experience in
and of itself. This mastery is thus a task that each person must do for him
or herself. No one can master direct experience for anyone else. The Buddha
therefore had to find a way to induce his listeners to accept his diagnosis of
their sufferings and his prescription for their cure. He also had to convince
them to believe in their own ability to follow the instructions and obtain the
desired results. To use a traditional Buddhist analogy, the Buddha was like a
doctor who had to convince his patients to administer a cure to themselves,
much as a doctor has to convince his patients to follow his directions in taking
medicine, getting exercise, changing their diet and lifestyle, and so forth. The
Buddha had an additional difficulty, however, in that his definition of health –
Unbinding – was something that none of his listeners had yet experienced for
themselves. Hence the most important point of his teaching was something
that his listeners would have to take on faith. Only when they had seen the
18 Chapter 1. Introduction
results of putting the teachings into practice for themselves would faith no
longer be necessary.
Thus, for every listener, faith in the Buddha’s Awakening was a prereq-
uisite for advanced growth in the teaching. Without faith in the fact of the
Buddha’s knowledge of Unbinding, one could not fully accept his prescrip-
tion. Without faith in the regularity of the Dhamma – including conviction
in the principle of kamma and the impersonality of the causal law, making
the path open in principle to everyone – one could not fully have faith in
one’s own ability to follow the path. Of course, this faith would then be con-
firmed, step by step, as one followed the teaching and began gaining results,
but full confirmation would come only with an experience of Awakening.
Prior to that point, one’s trust, bolstered only by partial results, would have
to be a matter of faith [MN 27]. Acquiring this faith is called “going for
refuge” in the Buddha. The “refuge” here derives from the fact that one has
placed trust in the truth of the Buddha’s Awakening and expects that by
following his teachings – in particular, the principle of skillful kamma – one
protects oneself from creating further suffering for oneself or others, eventu-
ally reaching true, unconditioned happiness. This act of going for refuge is
what qualifies one as a Buddhist – as opposed to someone simply interested
in the Buddha’s teachings – and puts one in a position to benefit fully from
what the Buddha taught.
The Buddha employed various means of instilling faith in his listeners,
but the primary means fall into three classes: his character, his psychic pow-
ers, and his powers of reason. When he gave his first sermon – to the Five
Brethren, his former compatriots – he had to preface his remarks by remind-
ing them of his honest and responsible character before they would willingly
listen to him. When he taught the Kassapa brothers, he first had to subdue
their pride with a dazzling array of psychic feats. In most cases, however,
he needed only to reason with his listeners and interlocutors, although here
again he had to be sensitive to the level of their minds so that he could lead
them step by step, taking them from what they saw as immediately apparent
and directing them to ever higher and more subtle points. The typical pat-
tern was for the Buddha to begin with the immediate joys of generosity and
virtue; then go on to the longer-term sensual rewards of these qualities, in line
with the principle of kamma; then the ultimate drawbacks of those sensual
rewards; and finally the benefits of renunciation. If his listeners could follow
his reasoning this far, they would be ready for the more advanced teachings.
We often view reason as something distinct from faith, but for the Bud-
1.2. The Buddha’s Teachings 19
dha it was simply one way of instilling faith or conviction in his listeners.
At several points in the Pali Canon [e.g., DN 1] he points out the fallacies
that can result when one draws reasoned conclusions from a limited range
of experience, from false analogies, or from inappropriate modes of analysis.
Because his teachings could not be proven prior to an experience of Awak-
ening, he recognized that the proper use of reason was not in trying to prove
his teachings, but simply in showing that they made sense. People can make
sense of things when they see them as similar to something they already
know and understand. Thus the main function of reason in presenting the
teachings is in finding proper analogies for understanding them: hence the
many metaphors and similes used throughout the texts. Faith based on rea-
son and understanding, the Buddha taught, was more solid than unreasoned
faith, but neither could substitute for the direct knowledge of the regularity
of the Dhamma and of Unbinding, for only the experience of Unbinding was
a guarantee of true knowledge. Nevertheless, faith was a prerequisite for
attaining that direct knowledge. Only when the initial presentation of the
teaching had aroused faith in the listener, would he/she be in a position to
benefit from a less-adorned presentation of the content and put it into prac-
tice. The need for various ways of presenting his points on a wide range of
levels meant that the body of the Buddha’s teachings grew ever more varied
and immense with time. As his career drew to a close, he found it necessary
to highlight the essential core of the teaching, the unadorned content, so that
the more timeless aspects of his message would remain clear in his follow-
ers’ minds. Societies and cultures inevitably change, so that what counts
as effective persuasion in one time and place may be ineffective in another.
The basic structure of this/that conditionality does not change, however; the
qualities of the mind needed for mastering causality and realizing the Unfab-
ricated will always remain the same. The Buddha thus presented the Wings
to Awakening as the unadorned content: the timeless, essential core.
Even here, however, the principle of this/that conditionality affected his
presentation. He needed to find principles that would be relatively immune
to changes in society and culture. He needed a mode of presentation that
was simple enough to memorize, but not so simplistic as to distort or limit
the teaching. He also needed words that would point, not to abstractions,
but to the immediate realities of awareness in the listener’s own mind. And,
finally, he needed a useful framework for the teaching as a whole, so that
those who wanted to track down specific points would not lose sight of how
those points fit into the larger picture of the practice.
20 Chapter 1. Introduction
named his teaching Dhamma-Vinaya. The Vinaya was the set of rules and
regulations he established for the smooth running of the order. Dhamma
is the primary member of the compound, but the Vinaya forms the context
that helps keep it alive. They meet in a common focus on the factor of
intention. The Vinaya uses its rules not only to foster communal order, but
also to sensitize individual practitioners to the element of intention in all
their actions. The Dhamma then makes use of this sensitivity as a means of
fostering the insights that lead to Awakening.
After he had placed the Dhamma-Vinaya on a sure footing, the Buddha
passed away into total Unbinding. This event has provoked a great deal of
controversy within and without the Buddhist tradition, some people saying
that if the Buddha was truly compassionate, he should have taken repeated
rebirth so that the rest of humanity could continue to benefit from the excel-
lent qualities that he had built into his mind. His total Unbinding, however,
can be seen as one of his greatest kindnesses to his followers. By example
he showed that, although the path to true happiness entails generosity and
kindness to others, the goal of the path needs no justification in terms of
anything else. The limitless freedom of Unbinding is a worthy end for its
own sake. Society’s usual demand that people must justify their actions by
appeal to the continued smooth functioning of society or the happiness of
others, has no sway over the innate worth of this level. The Buddha made
use of the kammic residue remaining after his Awakening to make a free gift
of the Dhamma-Vinaya to all who care about genuine happiness and health,
but when those residues were exhausted, he took the noble way of true health
as an example and challenge to us all.
Thus the Dhamma-Vinaya can be seen as the Buddha’s generous gift to
posterity. The rules of the Vinaya offer an environment for practice, while
the Wings to Awakening are an invitation and guide to that practice, leading
to true happiness. Anyone, anywhere, who is seriously interested in true
happiness is welcome to focus on the qualities listed here, to see if this/that
conditionality is indeed the causal principle governing the dimensions of time
and the present, and to test if it can be mastered in a way that leads to
the promised result: freedom transcending those dimensions, totally beyond
measure and unbound.
22 Chapter 1. Introduction
Part I
Basic Principles
23
Chapter 2
Skillfulness
The Buddha’s teachings, like the principles they describe, are interrelated
in complex ways. It is difficult to point out any one teaching that underlies
everything else, as all the teachings are mutually dependent. Nevertheless,
there are a number of possible entry points into their pattern, and one of
those points is the Buddha’s observation that it is possible to master a skill.
Unlike many of his contemporaries – and many thinkers before and since
– the Buddha did not try to reason from abstract principles down to direct
experience. As we noted in the Introduction, the Buddha’s contemporaries
were influenced by the premier science of their time – astronomy – in the
way they viewed experience, and it is easy to see prejudices derived from as-
tronomy at work in their thought: that the universe is composed of discrete
bodies acting in line with regular, linear causes; and that human knowledge
of these processes has no impact on the way they behave. These prejudices,
when applied to human experience, resulted in what the Buddha called theo-
ries of being, or what we today would call theories of order: that the processes
of the universe can be totally explained in terms of physical principles that
follow linear causal patterns unaffected by human intervention. The various
conclusions that developed out of this approach differed primarily in how
one’s soul – viewed in various ways either as a discrete thing or as a more
abstract principle – was to look for release from this vast cosmic machine.
Some insisted that action was illusory; others, that action was real but to-
tally determined by fixed rules, serving only to bind one to the impersonal
cycle.
In reaction to the theories of being, the Lokayatans proposed a theory of
non-being or absolute chaos that, like all reactionary ideologies, was defined
25
26 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
effects allows the results of an action to feed back into future action, thus al-
lowing for refinement in one’s skill. By working out the implications of these
requirements, the Buddha arrived at the principle of this/that conditional-
ity, in which multiple feedback loops – sensitive to pre-existing conditions,
to present input, and to their combined outcome – account for the incredible
complexity of the world of experience in a way similar to that of modern
theories of "deterministic chaos." In this sense, even though this/that condi-
tionality may seem somewhat alien when viewed in the abstract, it is actu-
ally a very familiar but overlooked assumption that underlies all conscious,
purposeful action. The Buddha simply explored the implications of this as-
sumption much further than anyone else, all the way to the disbanding of
space, time, and the present, together with their inherent stress.
These implications of the fact of skillfulness account for the main frame-
work of the Buddha’s doctrine as expressed in the teachings on the four noble
truths, dependent co-arising, and this/that conditionality. Other facets of
skillful action also account for more detailed points within this framework.
For instance, the Buddha’s exploration of stress and its origination, in the
light of skillful action, provided the analysis of mental and physical events
("name-and-form," nama-rupa) that plays a central role in the second noble
truth as expressed in terms of dependent co-arising. The first lesson of skill-
fulness is that the essence of an action lies in the intention motivating it: an
act motivated by the intention for greater skillfulness will give results differ-
ent from those of an act motivated by greed, aversion, or delusion. Intention,
in turn, is influenced by the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the act
of attention to one’s circumstances. The less an act of attention is clouded
by delusion, the more clearly it will see things in appropriate terms. The
combination of attention and intention in turn determines the quality of the
feeling and the physical events that result from the act. The more skilled the
action, the more refined the feelings and physical events that result. Percep-
tions arise with regard to those results, some more appropriate than others.
The act of attention selects which ones to focus on, thus feeding back into
another round in the cycle of action, with all its inherent instabilities and
uncertainties. Underlying the entire cycle is the fact that all its factors are
in contact with consciousness. This constellation of factors came to form the
central causal connection in one of the Buddha’s most basic formulations of
dependent co-arising, in which the mutual dependence of "name" (attention,
intention, feeling, perception, and contact) and "form" (physical events) on
the one hand, and consciousness on the other, accounts for the arising of all
28 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
the point where they are naturally stilled. There the transcendent paths and
their fruitions take over. This is the sense in which even the path of right
practice must eventually be abandoned, but only after it has been brought to
the culmination of its development. Many people have misunderstood this
point, believing that the Buddha’s teachings on non-attachment require that
one relinquish one’s attachment to the path of practice as quickly as possible.
Actually, to make a show of abandoning the path before it is fully developed
is to abort the entire practice. As one teacher has put it, a person climbing
up to a roof by means of a ladder can let go of the ladder only when safely
on the roof. In terms of the famous raft simile [§§113-114], one abandons the
raft only after crossing the ocean. If one were to abandon it in mid-ocean,
to make a show of going spontaneously with the flow of the ocean’s many
currents, one could drown.
When the factors of the path are mutually brought to a state of consum-
mation, however, there occurs a point of equipoise called "non-fashioning"
(atammayata) [§179], in which their contact with consciousness – still fully
conscious – naturally becomes disengaged. One modern teacher has com-
pared this disengagement to that of a fruit naturally falling, when fully
ripened, from the tree. This is how the cycle of action is brought to an
end. And, as the Buddha discovered, this is how all experience of stress,
suffering, and the entire cosmos conditioned by time and the present can be
brought to an end as well, leaving the limitless freedom of "consciousness
without feature" [§235], the endpoint of all human striving.
Thus we can say that the Dhamma – in terms of doctrine, practice, and
attainment – derives from the fully explored implications of one observation:
that it is possible to master a skill. This point is reflected not only in the
content of the Buddha’s teachings, but also in the way they are expressed.
The Buddha used many metaphors, explicit and implicit, citing the skills of
craftsmen, artists, and athletes to illustrate his points. The texts abound
with explicit similes referring to acrobats, archers, bathmen, butchers, car-
penters, farmers, fletchers, herdsmen, musicians, painters, etc., pointing out
how their skills correspond either to the way the mind fashions stress and
suffering for itself, or to the skills a meditator needs to develop in order to
master the path to release. On the implicit level, the passages dealing with
meditation are filled with terms derived from music theory. In his younger
days as a prince, the Bodhisatta – like other young aristocrats of his time
– was undoubtedly a connoisseur of the musical arts, and so was naturally
familiar with the theory that lay behind them. Because the terminology of
30 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
develops skill to the point where it becomes effortless, but the perfection of
the skill does not negate the fact that it took a great deal of effort to reach
that level of mastery.
In fact, the Buddha’s path is a meta-skill – the full art or science of
skillfulness, in and of itself – in which one focuses on the mind as the source
of what is skillful and unskillful, learns to deal skillfully with unskillful states
of mind, then to deal more skillfully even with skillful states to the point of
focusing not on the skill, but on the skill of acquiring a skill, so that one
ultimately sees what lies both in the skillfulness and beyond [§61].
* * *
The passages included in this first section cover three themes: (1) how the
distinction between what is skillful and not is fundamental to the practice;
(2) how to determine what is skillful and not; and (3) how to become skillful
in developing skillful states of mind. Because these issues are so basic, the
passages are fairly self-explanatory. However, they have a few facets that are
easy to overlook.
First, it is important to note that the definition of skillful states of mind
as free of greed, aversion, and delusion, provides a convenient rule of thumb
for distinguishing between intentions that are merely good and those that
are actually skillful. Sometimes good intentions are colored by ignorance,
as when one tries to help another person without knowing the true source
of that person’s problem. This would qualify as a good but not a skillful
intention. As we have noticed, the processes of causality are sensitive and
complex. Thus there is no getting by on well-meaning intentions alone. One
must monitor one’s actions continually to make sure that they are, in fact,
appropriate to the present situation, and are not based on ignorance. Delu-
sion, even well-meaning delusion, is a source for unskillful acts. For this
reason, one needs to be constantly observant of one’s actions and their ef-
fects [§6] so that one’s good intentions can truly become skillful, and one’s
actions can actually do justice to the specific conditions in the here and now
produced by the process of this/that conditionality.
Second, the distinction between skillful and unskillful provides an insight-
ful explanation for the causes for good and evil behavior. This distinction is
not limited to the values of any particular society, and it avoids the issue of
whether beings are inherently good or bad. When people act in evil ways, it
is because they lack skill in the way they think; when they think in skillful
ways, they naturally will do good. Because skill is something that can be
acquired, the way to goodness is open for all people who want to be good, no
33
matter how badly they have behaved in the past. The Canon tells of people
who had committed misdeeds and, upon realizing their mistakes, confessed
them to the Buddha. The most striking instance was King Ajatasattu [DN
2[42]], who had killed his father in order to secure his position on the throne.
In spite of the gross nature of the deed, the Buddha approved of the king’s
confession, and – instead of playing on any feelings of guilt the king might
have had – encouraged him in his determination to mend his ways, adding
that it is a cause for progress in the noble way if one realizes one’s mistakes
as such and resolves not to repeat them. Thus it is always possible to make a
fresh start in life, aware of one’s past bad kamma and resolving to mend one’s
ways, unburdened with any feelings that one might be inherently unworthy
or bad.
Third, it is important to note the two basic factors, internal and exter-
nal, that enable one to tell what is skillful and unskillful. The main internal
factor is "appropriate attention," [§53] which is well illustrated in §1). One
learns to view one’s thoughts objectively, without partiality, in terms of their
actual consequences. As this factor develops from a sense of conviction in the
principle of kamma [§§9-17], it turns into the ability to view all of experience
in terms of the four noble truths [§51]. The main external factor is friend-
ship with admirable people [§54], defined as those who live by the principle
of kamma. From their teachings, one can learn the advisability of trying to
develop skillfulness in the first place; in their behavior, one can see skillful-
ness in action. These internal and external factors reinforce one another, in
that skillful attitudes lead one to seek out admirable people to begin with,
and admirable people lead one by word and example to see the less obvious
advantages of skillful attitudes. Fortunately, every human being alive has
some skillful qualities in his or her mind, as well as access to people who are
admirable on at least some level. Thus no one consciously starting on the
Buddhist path is starting from scratch. Rather, each person is advised to
make the most of opportunities that have already been present and to search
for further opportunities to develop the mind in a skillful direction.
The two prerequisites for skillfulness are amplified in §2. The discourse
from which this passage comes – the Discourse to the Kalamas – is often
referred to as the Buddha’s charter of free inquiry, because of the emphasis
it lays on seeing the truth for oneself, without reliance on outside authority.
This interpretation, however, misses one of the important clauses in the dis-
course, where the Buddha says that one must take note of what wise people
censure and praise. In other words, one must check one’s own perceptions
34 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
against those of people of upright character and solid experience, for until
one gains Awakening, one’s perceptions are bound to be partial and biased.
This is why the Buddha says [§115] that friendship with admirable people –
which begins with the ability to recognize admirable people – is the whole of
the life of practice.
The interaction between appropriate attention and friendship with ad-
mirable people in mastering skillful mental qualities is well-illustrated in §6.
This passage, in which the Buddha shortly after his Awakening is instruct-
ing his seven-year-old son (who was born just before Prince Siddhattha left
home), shows very explicitly how one develops appropriate attention by re-
flecting on the consequences of one’s actions before, while, and after acting.
If one realizes, after acting, that what looked like a proper action before
and while acting actually turned out to have unfavorable consequences, one
should confess the mistake to one’s experienced friends on the path. This
allows one to benefit from their counsel and also to make public one’s resolve
not to make the same mistake again. In this way, although one is respon-
sible for treading the path oneself, one can benefit from the wisdom and
encouragement of those already familiar with the way.
qualities, I entered & remained in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born
from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the
stilling of directed thought & evaluation, I entered & remained in the second
jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free
from directed thought & evaluation – internal assurance. With the fading of
rapture I remained in equanimity, mindful & alert, and physically sensitive of
pleasure. I entered & remained in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones
declare, ’Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.’ With the
abandoning of pleasure & pain – as with the earlier disappearance of elation
& distress – I entered & remained in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity
& mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.
When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid
of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I
directed it to the knowledge of recollecting my past lives. I recollected my
manifold past lives, i.e., one birth, two... five, ten... fifty, a hundred, a
thousand, a hundred thousand, many eons of cosmic contraction, many eons
of cosmic expansion, many eons of cosmic contraction & expansion: ’There
I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such
was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my
life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a
name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food,
such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the end of my life. Passing away
from that state, I re-arose here.’ Thus I remembered my manifold past lives
in their modes & details.
This was the first knowledge I attained in the first watch of the night.
Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light
arose – as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished, rid
of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I
directed it to the knowledge of the passing away & reappearance of beings.
I saw – by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human –
beings passing away & re-appearing, and I discerned how they are inferior
& superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate in accordance with
their kamma: ’These beings – who were endowed with bad conduct of body,
speech & mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and undertook
actions under the influence of wrong views – with the break-up of the body,
after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination,
the lower realms, in hell. But these beings – who were endowed with good
2.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 37
conduct of body, speech, & mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who
held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views –
with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good
destinations, in the heavenly world.’ Thus – by means of the divine eye,
purified & surpassing the human – I saw beings passing away & re-appearing,
and I discerned how they are inferior & superior, beautiful & ugly, fortunate
& unfortunate in accordance with their kamma.
This was the second knowledge I attained in the second watch of the
night. Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed;
light arose – as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
When the mind was thus concentrated, purified, bright, unblemished,
rid of defilement, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I
directed it to the knowledge of the ending of the mental effluents. I discerned,
as it was actually present, that ’This is stress... This is the origination of
stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the
cessation of stress... These are effluents... This is the origination of effluents...
This is the cessation of effluents... This is the way leading to the cessation
of effluents.’ My heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, was released from the
effluent of sensuality, released from the effluent of becoming, released from
the effluent of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge, ’Released.’
I discerned that ’Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There
is nothing further for this world.’
This was the third knowledge I attained in the third watch of the night.
Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed; light
arose – as happens in one who is heedful, ardent, & resolute.
– MN 19[71]
§ 2. As they were sitting to one side, the Kalamas of Kesaputta said to
the Blessed One, ’Lord, there are some priests & contemplatives who come
to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the
doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for
them, & disparage them. And then other priests & contemplatives come
to Kesaputta. They expound & glorify their own doctrines, but as for the
doctrines of others, they deprecate them, revile them, show contempt for
them, & disparage them. They leave us simply uncertain & doubtful: Which
of these venerable priests & contemplatives are speaking the truth, and which
ones are lying?’
’Of course you are uncertain, Kalamas. Of course you are doubtful. When
38 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. So in this case, Kalamas,
don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by conjecture,
by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by prob-
ability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our teacher." When you
know for yourselves that, "These qualities are unskillful; these qualities are
blameworthy; these qualities are criticized by the wise; these qualities, when
adopted & carried out, lead to harm & to suffering" – then you should aban-
don them...
’How do you construe this, Kalamas? When greed arises in a person, does
it arise for welfare or for harm?’
’For harm, lord.’
’And this greedy person, overcome by greed, his mind possessed by greed:
Doesn’t he kill living beings, take what is not given, go after another person’s
wife, tell lies, and induce others to do likewise, all of which is for long-term
harm & suffering?’
’Yes, lord.’
(Similarly for aversion & delusion.)
So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?’
’Unskillful, lord.’
’Blameworthy or blameless?’
’Blameworthy, lord.’
’Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?’
’Criticized by the wise, lord.’
’When adopted & carried out, do they lead to harm & to suffering, or
not?’
’When adopted & carried out, they lead to harm & to suffering...’
’...Now, Kalamas, don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scrip-
ture, by conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pon-
dering views, by probability, or by the thought, "This contemplative is our
teacher." When you know for yourselves that, "These qualities are skillful;
these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these
qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness" –
then you should enter & remain in them.
’How do you construe this, Kalamas? When lack of greed arises in a
person, does it arise for welfare or for harm?’
’For welfare, lord.’
’And this ungreedy person, not overcome by greed, his mind not possessed
by greed: He doesn’t kill living beings, take what is not given, go after
2.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 39
another person’s wife, tell lies, or induce others to do likewise, all of which
is for long-term welfare & happiness – right?’
’Yes, lord.’
(Similarly for lack of aversion & lack of delusion.)
So what do you think, Kalamas: Are these qualities skillful or unskillful?’
’Skillful, lord.’
’Blameworthy or blameless?’
’Blameless, lord.’
’Criticized by the wise or praised by the wise?’
’Praised by the wise, lord.’
’When adopted & carried out, do they lead to welfare & to happiness, or
not?’
’When adopted & carried out, they lead to welfare & to happiness...’
– AN III.65[5]
§ 3. Now what is unskillful? Taking life is unskillful, taking what is not
given... sexual misconduct... lying... abusive speech... divisive tale-bearing...
idle chatter is unskillful. Covetousness... ill will... wrong views are unskillful.
These things are termed unskillful.
And what are the roots of unskillful things? Greed is a root of unskillful
things, aversion is a root of unskillful things, delusion is a root of unskillful
things. These are termed the roots of unskillful things.
And what is skillful? Abstaining from taking life is skillful, abstaining
from taking what is not given... from sexual misconduct... from lying... from
abusive speech... from divisive tale-bearing... abstaining from idle chatter
is skillful. Lack of covetousness... lack of ill will... right views are skillful.
These things are termed skillful.
And what are the roots of skillful things? Lack of greed is a root of skillful
things, lack of aversion is a root of skillful things, lack of delusion is a root
of skillful things. These are termed the roots of skillful things.
– MN 9[68]
§ 4. The Tathagata, the Worthy one, the Rightly Self-awakened One
has two Dhamma discourses given in sequence. Which two? ’See evil as
evil.’ This is the first Dhamma discourse. ’Having seen evil as evil, become
disenchanted with it, dispassionate toward it, freed from it.’ This is the
second Dhamma discourse...
...See evil
Be dispassionate toward evil.
40 Chapter 2. Skillfulness
§ 7.
The Buddha’s doctrine of kamma takes the fact of skillful action, which can
be observed on the ordinary sensory level, and gives it an importance that, for
a person pursuing the Buddhist goal, must be accepted on faith. According to
this doctrine, skillful action is not simply one factor out of many contributing
to happiness: it is the primary factor. It does not lead simply to happiness
within the dimensions of time and the present: if developed to the ultimate
level of refinement, it can lead to an Awakening totally released from those
dimensions. These assertions cannot be proven prior to an experience of that
Awakening, but they must be accepted as working hypotheses in the effort
to develop the skillfulness needed for Awakening. This paradox – which lies
at the heart of the act of taking refuge in the Triple Gem – explains why
the serious pursuit of the Buddhist path is a sustained act of faith that can
become truly firm only with the first glimpse of Awakening, called stream-
entry. It also explains why a strong desire to gain release from the stress and
suffering inherent in conditioned existence is needed for such a pursuit, for
without that desire it is very difficult to break through this paradox with the
necessary leap of faith.
The basic context for the doctrine of kamma was provided by the first two
insights on the night of the Buddha’s Awakening – remembrance of previous
lives, and insight into the death and rebirth of beings throughout the cosmos
[§1]. This context was expressed in terms of personal narrative (the story
of the Bodhisatta’s own journey from life to life) and cosmology (general
principles underlying the workings of the cosmos as a whole). The possibility
43
44 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
of rebirth accounted for the way in which kamma could shape experiences
in life, such as the situation into which a young child is born, for which no
kammic cause in the present lifetime could be found. The pattern of death
and rebirth for all beings, in which the quality of the state of rebirth depends
on the moral quality of actions performed in previous lifetimes, presented the
possibility that moral standards, instead of being mere social conventions,
were intrinsic to the workings of any and all experience of the cosmos.
Essential to the Buddha’s second insight was his realization of the mind’s
role in determining the moral quality of actions. His analysis of the process
of developing a skill showed him that skillfulness depended not so much on
the physical performance of an act as on the mental qualities of perception,
attention, and intention that played a part in it. Of these three qualities, the
intention formed the essence of the act [§10] – as it constituted the decision
to act – while attention and perception informed it. Thus the skillfulness of
these mental phenomena accounted for the act’s kammic consequences. The
less greed, aversion, and delusion motivating the act, the better its results.
Unintentional acts would have kammic consequences only when they resulted
from carelessness in areas where one would reasonably be held responsible.
Intentional actions performed under the influence of right view – which on
this level means conviction in the principle of kamma [II/E (Section 8); III/A
(Section III); §106] – led inherently to pleasant states of rebirth, while those
performed under the influence of wrong view led to unpleasant states. Thus
the quality of the views on which one acts – i.e., the quality of the perception
and attention informing the intention – is a major factor in shaping experi-
ence. This observation undercuts the radical distinction between mind and
material reality that is taken for granted in our own culture and that was
also assumed by many of the Samana schools of the Buddha’s time. From
the Buddha’s viewpoint, mental and physical phenomena are two sides of a
single coin, with the mental side of prior importance [§8].
Most descriptions of the Buddha’s teachings on kamma tend to stop here,
but there are many passages on kamma in the Canon – and included in this
section – that do not fit into the neat picture based merely the first two
insights on the night of the Awakening. The only way to account for these
passages is to note the simple fact that Buddha’s teachings on kamma were
shaped not only by these two insights, but also by the third insight and the
resulting knowledge of Unbinding. The third insight explored the possibility
of a fourth kind of kamma – in addition to good, bad, and a mixture of the
two – that was skillful enough to bring about the ending of kamma [§§16-
45
17]. At the same time, in the course of developing the level of skillfulness
needed to bring kamma to an end, the Buddha learned a great deal about
the nature of action that forced him to recast his understanding of kamma in
much more subtle terms. The knowledge of Unbinding – which followed on
the full development of this fourth type of kamma and the realizations that
accompanied it – acted as the proof that the understandings comprising the
three insights were true. To explore these points will not only help give us
a more complete understanding of the Buddha’s teachings on kamma, but
will also show why conviction in the principle of skillful kamma is essential
to Buddhist practice.
In his effort to master kamma in such a way as to bring kamma to an end,
the Buddha discovered that he had to abandon the contexts of personal nar-
rative and cosmology in which the issue of kamma first presented itself. Both
these forms of understanding deal in categories of being and non-being, self
and others, but the Buddha found that it was impossible to bring kamma to
an end if one thought in such terms. For example, narrative and cosmological
modes of thinking would lead one to ask whether the agent who performed
an act of kamma was the same as the person experiencing the result, some-
one else, both, or neither. If one answered that it was the same person, then
the person experiencing the result would have to identify not only with the
actor, but also with the mode of action, and thus would not be able to gain
release from it. If one answered that it was another person, both oneself
and another, or neither, then the person experiencing the result would see
no need to heighten the skill or understanding of his/her own kamma in the
present, for the experience of pleasure and pain was not his or her own full
responsibility. In either case, the development of the fourth type of kamma
would be aborted [§§228-229].
To avoid the drawbacks of the narrative and cosmological mind-sets, the
Buddha pursued an entirely different tack – what he called "entry into empti-
ness," and what modern philosophy calls radical phenomenology: a focus on
the events of present consciousness, in and of themselves, without reference
to questions of whether there are any entities underlying those events. In the
Buddha’s case, he focused simply on the process of kammic cause and result
as it played itself out in the immediate present, in the process of developing
the skillfulness of the mind, without reference to who or what lay behind
those processes. On the most basic level of this mode of awareness, there
was no sense even of "existence" or "non-existence" [§186], but simply the
events of stress, its origination, its cessation, and the path to its cessation,
46 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
arising and passing away. It was in this mode that he was able to pursue
the fourth type of kamma to its end, at the same time gaining heightened
insight into the nature of action itself and its many implications, including
questions of rebirth, the relationship of mental to physical events, and the
way kamma constructs all experience of the cosmos.
Because the Buddha gained both understanding of and release from kamma
by pursuing the phenomenological mode of attention, his full-dress systematic
analysis of kamma is also expressed in that mode. This analysis is included in
his teachings on this/that conditionality, dependent co-arising, and the four
noble truths: the three levels of refinement in the type of right view without
effluents that underlay his mastery of the fourth type of kamma. Here we will
consider, in turn, how each of these teachings shaped the Buddha’s teachings
on kamma, how the knowledge of Unbinding confirmed those teachings, and
how the success of the phenomenological mode of analysis shaped the Bud-
dha’s use of narrative and cosmological modes in instructing others. We will
conclude with a discussion of how these points show the need for conviction
in the principle of kamma as a working hypothesis for anyone who wants to
gain release from suffering and stress.
To begin with this/that conditionality: This principle accounts not
only for the complexity of the kammic process, but also for its being regular
without at the same time being rigidly deterministic. The non-linearity of
this/that conditionality also accounts for the fact that the process can be
successfully dismantled by radical attention to the present moment.
Unlike the theory of linear causality – which led the Vedists and Jains to
see the relationship between an act and its result as predictable and tit-for-tat
– the principle of this/that conditionality makes that relationship inherently
complex. The results of kamma experienced at any one point in time come
not only from past kamma, but also from present kamma. This means that,
although there are general patterns relating habitual acts to corresponding
results [§9], there is no set one-for-one, tit-for-tat, relationship between a
particular action and its results. Instead, the results are determined by the
context of the act, both in terms of actions that preceded or followed it
[§11] and in terms one’s state of mind at the time of acting or experiencing
the result [§13]. As we noted in the Introduction, the feedback loops inher-
ent in this/that conditionality mean that the working out of any particular
cause-effect relationship can be very complex indeed. This explains why the
Buddha says in §12 that the results of kamma are imponderable. Only a
person who has developed the mental range of a Buddha – another impon-
47
derable itself – would be able to trace the intricacies of the kammic network.
The basic premise of kamma is simple – that skillful intentions lead to favor-
able results, and unskillful ones to unfavorable results – but the process by
which those results work themselves out is so intricate that it cannot be fully
mapped. We can compare this with the Mandelbrot set, a mathematical set
generated by a simple equation, but whose graph is so complex (see the front
cover of this book) that it will probably never be completely explored.
Although the precise working out of the kammic process is somewhat
unpredictable, it is not chaotic. The relationship between kammic causes and
their effects is entirely regular: when an action is of the sort that it will be felt
in such and such a way, that is how its result will be experienced [§13]. Skillful
intentions lead to favorable results, unskillful ones to unfavorable results.
Thus, when one participates in the kammic process, one is at the mercy of
a pattern that one’s actions put into motion, but that is not entirely under
one’s present control. Despite the power of the mind, one cannot reshape
the basic laws of cosmic causality at whim. These laws include the physical
laws, within which one’s kamma must ripen and work itself out. This is the
point of passage §14, in which the Buddha explains that present pain can be
explained not only by past kamma but also by a host of other factors; the
list of alternative factors he gives comes straight from the various causes for
pain that were recognized in the medical treatises of his time. If we compare
this list with his definition of old kamma in §15, we see that many if not all
of the alternative causes are actually the result of past actions. The point
here is that old kamma does not override other causal factors operating in
the universe – such as those recognized by the physical sciences – but instead
finds its expression within them.
However, the fact that the kammic process relies on input from the present
moment means that it is not totally deterministic. Input from the past may
place restrictions on what can be done and known in any particular moment,
but the allowance for new input from the present provides some room for free
will. This allowance also opens the possibility for escape from the cycle of
kamma altogether by means of the fourth type of kamma: the development
of heightened skillfulness through the pursuit of the seven factors for Awak-
ening and the noble eightfold path – and, by extension, all of the Wings to
Awakening [§§16-17].
The non-linearity of this/that conditionality explains why heightened
skillfulness, when focused on the present moment, can succeed in leading
to the end of the kamma that has formed the experience of the entire cos-
48 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
mos. All non-linear processes exhibit what is called scale invariance, which
means that the behavior of the process on any one scale is similar to its be-
havior on smaller or larger scales. To understand, say, the large-scale pattern
of a particular non-linear process, one need only focus on its behavior on a
smaller scale that is easier to observe, and one will see the same pattern at
work. In the case of kamma, one need only focus on the process of kamma
in the immediate present, in the course of developing heightened skillfulness,
and the large-scale issues over the expanses of space and time will become
clear as one gains release from them.
The teaching on dependent co-arising helps to provide more detailed
instructions on this point, showing precisely where the cycle of kamma pro-
vides openings for more skillful present input. In doing so, it both explains
the importance of the act of attention in developing the fourth type of kamma,
and acts as a guide for focusing attention on present experience in appropri-
ate ways [III/H/iii (Section 19.3.1)].
Dependent co-arising shows how the cosmos, when viewed in the con-
text of how it is directly experienced by a person developing skillfulness,
is subsumed entirely under factors that are immediately present to aware-
ness: the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, mental fabrication, and
consciousness, and the six sense media [§§212-213]. Included in this descrip-
tion is the Buddha’s ultimate analysis of kamma and rebirth. The nexus of
kamma, clinging, becoming, and birth accounts for the realm in which birth
takes place [§220], whereas the nexus of name-and-form with consciousness
accounts for the arising and survival of the kammically active organism within
that realm [§231]. Also included in dependent co-arising is a detailed analysis
of the way in which kamma can – but does not necessarily have to – lead to
bondage to the cycle of rebirth. Unlike the Jains, the Buddha taught that
this bondage was mental rather than physical. It was caused not by sticky
substances created by the physical violence of an act, but by the fact that,
when there is ignorance of the four noble truths [III/H/i (Section 19.1)] (a
subtle form of delusion, the most basic root of unskillfulness), the feeling
that results from kamma gives rise to craving (a subtle form of greed and
aversion), clinging, and becoming; and these, in turn, form the conditions
for further kamma. Thus the results of action, in the presence of ignorance,
breed the conditions for more action, creating feedback loops that keep the
kammic processes in motion. For this reason, the Buddha defined the efflu-
ents as clinging – expressed in some lists as sensuality, in others as sensuality
and views – together with becoming and the ignorance that underlies them
49
all. If ignorance of the four truths can be ended, however, feeling does not
form a condition for craving or clinging, and thus there is no becoming to
provide a realm for further kamma. Thus the mastery of the fourth type of
kamma requires discernment of the four noble truths.
It is important to note that dependent co-arising makes no statements
as to the existence or lack of existence of any entity to which these events
pertain or to whom they belong [§230]. As we noted above, such terms of
analysis as "being," "non-being," "self," or "other," pertain properly to the
modes of cosmology and personal narrative, and have no place in a radically
phenomenological analysis. Questions and terms that derive from the con-
ventions of narrative and the construction of a world view have no place in
the direct awareness of experience in and of itself. This is one reason why
people who have not mastered the path of practice, and who thus function
primarily in terms of a world view or a sense of their own personal story, find
the teaching of dependent co-arising so inscrutable. Even though the Bud-
dha’s phenomenological approach answered his questions as to the nature of
kamma, it also reshaped his questions so that they had little in common with
the questions that most people bring to the practice. As with all insights
gained on the phenomenological level, dependent co-arising is expressed in
terms closest to the actual experience of events. Only when a person has
become thoroughly familiar with that level of experience is the analysis fully
intelligible. Thus, although the detailed nature of dependent co-arising is
one of its strengths, it is also one of its weaknesses as a teaching tool, for the
subtlety and complexity of the analysis can be intimidating even to advanced
practitioners.
For this reason, the Buddha most often expressed the right view under-
lying the fourth type of kamma in terms of the four noble truths. These
truths provide a more congenial entry point into the phenomenological mode
of awareness for they focus the analysis of kamma directly on the question of
stress and suffering: issues that tie in immediately with the narratives that
people make of their own life experiences. As the Buddha noted in his sec-
ond insight, his memory of previous lives included his experience of pleasure
and pain in each life, and most people – when recounting their own lives –
tend to focus on these issues as well. The four truths, however, do not stop
simply with tales about stress: they approach it from the problem-solving
perspective of a person engaged in developing a skill. What this means for
the meditator trying to master the fourth type of kamma is that these truths
cannot be fully comprehended by passive observation. Only by participating
50 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
presuppositions [DN 9]. For most people, he found, even the four noble
truths were too alien to form an entry point into the teaching. Thus he had
to use the narrative and cosmological modes of discourse to bring such people,
step by step, to the point where they were ready to comprehend those truths.
What he had learned in the final stage of his Awakening did not negate the
validity of the first and second insights into kamma and rebirth; instead, it
perfected them. The main change that the experience of Awakening made in
his view of personal narrative and cosmology is that it opened them both to
the dimension of release. The drama of kamma in the cosmos is not a closed
cycle; the principles of kamma can be mastered to the point where they open
to the way out. The narrative of a person’s course through the cosmos is not
doomed to aimless and endlessly repeated death and rebirth; the person can
tread the path of practice to Unbinding and so bring the narrative to an end.
Thus the Buddha used narrative and cosmological explanations to persuade
his listeners to explore the phenomenology of skillful action so that they too
might gain release; his descriptions of the role of action in shaping the vast
expanses of space, time, and existence was designed to focus the listener’s
attention on the liberating potential of what he/she was doing in the here
and now. Some of his most poignant teachings are narratives devoted to just
this purpose:
How do you construe this, monks: Which is greater, the tears
you have shed while transmigrating & wandering this long time
– crying & weeping from being joined with what is displeasing,
from being separated from what is pleasing – or the water in the
four great oceans?... This is the greater: The tears you have
shed... Why is that? From an inconceivable beginning, monks,
comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, although
beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmi-
grating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress,
experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries – long
enough to become disenchanted with all fabrications, enough to
become dispassionate, enough to be released.
– SN XV.3[112]
The cosmological discourses – such as DN 26, DN 27, MN 129, and MN
130 – are aimed at a similar point. DN 26 describes how the evolution and
devolution of the cosmos derives from the skillful and unskillful kamma of the
beings who inhabit it, and ends with the admonition that one should make an
52 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
island for oneself, safe from the process of the ups and downs of the cosmos.
This island is nothing other than the practice of the four frames of reference,
which, as we will see in II/B (Section 4.1), are precisely the training aimed
at familiarizing oneself with the phenomenology of skillful action. DN 27
shows how kamma accounts for the evolution of human society, and ends
with the statement that the most exalted member of society is the Arahant
who has gained release through highest discernment. MN 129 and MN 130
give graphic descriptions of the levels of heaven and hell into which beings
may be reborn after death through the power of good and bad kamma, MN
130 ending with a verse on the need to practice the path to non-clinging to
escape the dangers of birth and death entirely.
Thus the experience of his Awakening gave a new purpose to narrative
and cosmology in the Buddha’s eyes: they became tools for persuading his
listeners to adopt the training that would lead them to the phenomenological
mode. This accounts for the ad hoc and fragmentary nature of the narra-
tives and cosmological sketches in his teachings. They are not meant to be
analyzed in a systematic way. It is a mistake to tease out their implications
to see what they may say about such metaphysical questions as the existence
or lack of existence of entities or identities underlying the process of kamma
and rebirth, the relationship between the laws of kamma and the laws of the
physical sciences, or the nature of the mechanism by which kamma makes
its results felt over time [see the discussion of appropriate questions in II/G
(Section 9)]. The search for systematic answers to such issues is not only
invalid or irrelevant from the Buddhist point of view, it is actually coun-
terproductive in that it blocks one from entering the path to release. And,
we should note, none of the modes of discourse – narrative, cosmological,
or phenomenological – is capable of describing or even framing proper ques-
tions about what happens after Awakening, for such issues, which lie beyond
the conditions of time and the present, cannot be properly expressed by the
conventions of language and analysis, which are bound by those conditions.
Only a person who has mastered the skill of release has the mental skills
needed to comprehend such matters [AN IV.174[14] , MFU pp. 31-32[147,
p31]]. The Buddha reserved his systematic explanations for the particular
phenomenological mode to be used in viewing the process of kamma in its
own terms, as it is being mastered, so that the actual problem of kamma and
its retribution (as opposed to the theoretical questions about them) will be
solved. The right way to listen to the narratives and cosmological sketches,
then, is to see what they imply about one’s own need to master the kammic
53
There is the case where a certain woman or man is one who takes life –
brutal, bloody-handed, violent, cruel, merciless to living beings. From per-
forming & undertaking such kamma, then on the break-up of the body, after
death, this person re-appears in the plane of deprivation, the bad destina-
tion, the lower realms, in hell. Or, if he/she does not reappear in the plane of
deprivation... in hell, but instead returns to the human state, then wherever
he/she is reborn, he/she is short-lived. This is the way leading to short life,
namely being one who takes life...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man, abandoning the tak-
ing of life, abstains from the taking of life, dwelling with rod laid down, knife
laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the welfare of all living
beings. From performing & undertaking such kamma, then on the break-up
of the body, after death, this person re-appears in the good destinations,
in the heavenly world. Or, if he/she does not reappear... in the heavenly
world, but instead returns to the human state, then wherever he/she is re-
born, he/she is long-lived. This is the way leading to long life, namely being
one who, abandoning the taking of life, abstains from the taking of life...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man has a
tendency to injure living beings with the hand, with a clod, with a stick,
or with a knife... On the break-up of the body, after death, this person re-
appears in the plane of deprivation... in hell. Or, if he/she... instead returns
to the human state, then wherever he/she is reborn, he/she is sickly. This
is the way leading to being sickly, namely being one who has a tendency to
injure living beings...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man does not have a
tendency to injure living beings... This is the way leading to being healthy...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man has an
angry & irritable nature. Even when lightly criticized, he/she gets offended,
provoked, hostile, & resentful, and displays annoyance, aversion, & bitter-
ness... This is the way leading to being ugly...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man does not have an
angry & irritable nature. Even when heavily criticized, he/she does not get
offended, provoked, hostile, or resentful, and displays no annoyance, aversion,
or bitterness... This is the way leading to being beautiful...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man has an en-
vious nature – envying, resenting, & begrudging the fortune, honor, respect,
reverence, salutations, & veneration received by others... This is the way
leading to having little authority...
3.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 57
But there is the case where a certain woman or man does not have an en-
vious nature – neither envying, resenting, nor begrudging the fortune, honor,
respect, reverence, salutations, & veneration received by others... This is the
way leading to having great authority...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man does not
give food, drink, clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents, ointments, beds, dwellings,
or lamps to priests or contemplatives... This is the way leading to being
poor...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man gives food, drink,
clothing, vehicles, garlands, scents, ointments, beds, dwellings, & lamps to
priests & contemplatives... This is the way leading to being wealthy...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man is obstinate
& arrogant, not paying homage to those who deserve homage, not rising up
for those in whose presence one should rise up, not offering a seat to those
who deserve a seat, not making way for those for whom one should make
way, not honoring, respecting, revering, or venerating those who should be
honored... venerated. This is the way leading to being reborn in a low birth...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man is not obstinate or
arrogant, who pays homage to those who deserve homage, rises up for those
in whose presence one should rise up, offers a seat to those who deserve a
seat, makes way for those for whom one should make way, honors, respects,
reveres, & venerates those who should be honored... venerated. This is the
way leading to being reborn in a high birth...
Furthermore, there is the case where a certain woman or man, having
approached a priest or contemplative, does not ask, "What, venerable sir,
is skillful? What is unskillful? What is blameworthy? What is blameless?
What is to be cultivated? What is not to be cultivated? What kind of action
will lead to my long-term harm & suffering? What kind of action will lead
to my long-term welfare & happiness?"... This is the way leading to having
weak discernment...
But there is the case where a certain woman or man, having approached
a priest or contemplative, asks, "What, venerable sir, is skillful? What is
unskillful? What is blameworthy? What is blameless? What is to be culti-
vated? What is not to be cultivated? What kind of action will lead to my
long-term harm & suffering? What kind of action will lead to my long-term
welfare & happiness?"... This is the way leading to having great discern-
ment...
Beings are the owners of their kamma, heir to their kamma, born of their
58 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
kamma, related through their kamma, and have their kamma as their refuge.
Kamma is what creates distinctions among beings in terms of coarseness &
refinement.
– MN 135[91]
§ 10. ’Kamma should be known. The cause by which kamma comes into
play should be known. The diversity in kamma should be known. The result
of kamma should be known. The cessation of kamma should be known. The
path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma should be known.’ Thus
it has been said. Why was it said?
Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of
body, speech, & intellect.
And what is the cause by which kamma comes into play? Contact...
And what is the diversity in kamma? There is kamma to be experienced
in hell, kamma to be experienced in the realm of common animals, kamma to
be experienced in the realm of the hungry shades, kamma to be experienced
in the human world, kamma to be experienced in the heavenly worlds. [In
the Buddhist cosmology, sojourns in hell or in heaven, as in the other realms,
are not eternal. After the force of one’s kamma leading to rebirth in those
levels has worn out, one is reborn elsewhere.]...
And what is the result of kamma? The result of kamma is of three sorts,
I tell you: that which arises right here & now, that which arises later [in this
lifetime], and that which arises following that...
And what is the cessation of kamma? From the cessation of contact is
the cessation of kamma; and just this noble eightfold path – right view, right
resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mind-
fulness, right concentration – is the path of practice leading to the cessation
of kamma.
Now when a disciple of the noble ones discerns kamma in this way, the
cause by which kamma comes into play in this way, the diversity of kamma
in this way, the result of kamma in this way, the cessation of kamma in this
way, & the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma in this way,
then he discerns this penetrative holy life as the cessation of kamma.
’Kamma should be known. The cause by which kamma comes into play...
The diversity in kamma... The result of kamma... The cessation of kamma...
The path of practice for the cessation of kamma should be known.’ Thus it
has been said, and this is why it was said.
3.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 59
– AN VI.63[24]
§ 11. There are four kinds of person to be found in the world. Which
four? There is the case where a certain person takes life, takes what is not
given (steals), engages in illicit sex, lies, speaks divisively, speaks harshly,
engages in idle chatter; is covetous, has a hostile mind, & holds wrong views.
On the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the plane of de-
privation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell.
But there is also the case where a certain person takes life... holds wrong
views [yet], on the break-up of the body, after death, he reappears in the
good destinations, in the heavenly world.
And there is the case where a certain person abstains from taking life,
abstains from taking what is not given... is not covetous, does not have a
hostile mind, & holds right views. On the break-up of the body, after death,
he reappears in the good destinations, in the heavenly world.
But there is also the case where a certain person abstains from taking
life, abstains from taking what is not given... is not covetous, does not have
a hostile mind, & holds right views [yet], on the break-up of the body, after
death, he reappears in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the
lower realms, in hell...
In the case of the person who takes life...[yet] on the break-up of the body,
after death, reappears in the good destinations, in the heavenly world: either
earlier he performed fine kamma that is to be felt as pleasant, or later he
performed fine kamma that is to be felt as pleasant, or at the time of death
he acquired & adopted right views. Because of that, on the break-up of the
body, after death, he reappears in the good destinations, in the heavenly
world. But as for the results of taking life... holding wrong views, he will feel
them either right here & now, or later [in this lifetime], or following that...
In the case of the person who abstains from taking life... but on the
break-up of the body, after death, reappears in the plane of deprivation,
the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell: either earlier he performed
evil kamma that is to be felt as painful, or later he performed evil kamma
that is to be felt as painful, or at the time of death he acquired & adopted
wrong views. Because of that, on the break-up of the body, after death, he
reappears in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms,
in hell. But as for the results of abstaining from taking life... holding right
views, he will feel them either right here & now, or later [in this lifetime], or
following that...
60 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
– MN 136[92]
§ 12. These four imponderables are not to be speculated about. Who-
ever speculates about them would go mad & experience vexation. Which
four? The Buddha-range of the Buddhas [i.e., the range of powers a Buddha
develops as a result of becoming a Buddha]... The jhana-range of one ab-
sorbed in jhana [i.e., the range of powers that one may obtain while absorbed
in jhana]... The results of kamma... Speculation about [the first moment,
purpose, etc., of] the cosmos is an imponderable that is not to be speculated
about. Whoever speculates about these things would go mad & experience
vexation.
– AN IV.77[11]
§ 13. The Buddha: ’For anyone who says, "In whatever way a person
makes kamma, that is how it is experienced," there is no living of the holy
life, there is no opportunity for the right ending of stress. But for anyone
who says, "When a person makes kamma to be felt in such & such a way,
that is how its result is experienced," there is the living of the holy life, there
is the opportunity for the right ending of stress.
’There is the case where a trifling evil deed done by a certain individual
takes him to hell. There is the case where the very same sort of trifling deed
done by another individual is experienced in the here & now, and for the
most part barely appears for a moment.
’Now, a trifling evil deed done by what sort of individual takes him to
hell? There is the case where a certain individual is undeveloped in [contem-
plating] the body, undeveloped in virtue, undeveloped in mind, undeveloped
in discernment: restricted, small-hearted, dwelling with suffering. A trifling
evil act done by this sort of individual takes him to hell.
’Now, a trifling evil deed done by what sort of individual is experienced
in the here & now, and for the most part barely appears for a moment?
There is the case where a certain individual is developed in [contemplating]
the body, developed in virtue, developed in mind, developed in discernment:
unrestricted, large-hearted, dwelling with the unlimited. A trifling evil act
done by this sort of individual is experienced in the here & now, and for the
most part barely appears for a moment.
’Suppose that a man were to drop a salt crystal into a small amount of
water in a cup. What do you think? Would the water in the cup become
salty because of the salt crystal, and unfit to drink?’
’Yes, lord...’
3.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 61
’Now suppose that a man were to drop a salt crystal into the River
Ganges. What do you think? Would the water in the River Ganges be-
come salty because of the salt crystal, and unfit to drink?’
’No, lord...’
’In the same way, there is the case where a trifling evil deed done by one
individual [the first] takes him to hell; and there is the case where the very
same sort of trifling deed done by the other individual is experienced in the
here & now, and for the most part barely appears for a moment.’
– AN III.99[7]
§ 14. Moliyasivaka: There are some priests & contemplatives who are
of this doctrine, this view: Whatever an individual feels – pleasure, pain,
neither-pleasure-nor-pain – is entirely caused by what was done before. Now
what does the Ven. Gotama say to that?
The Buddha: There are cases where some feelings arise based on bile
[i.e., diseases and pains that come from a malfunction of the gall bladder].
You yourself should know how some feelings arise based on bile. Even the
world is agreed on how some feelings arise based on bile. So any priests &
contemplatives who are of the doctrine & view that whatever an individual
feels – pleasure, pain, neither-pleasure-nor-pain – is entirely caused by what
was done before – slip past what they themselves know, slip past what is
agreed on by the world. Therefore I say that those priests & contemplatives
are wrong.
There are cases where some feelings arise based on phlegm... based on in-
ternal winds... based on a combination of bodily humors... from the change of
the seasons... from uneven (’out-of-tune’) care of the body... from attacks...
from the result of kamma. You yourself should know how some feelings arise
from the result of kamma. Even the world is agreed on how some feelings
arise from the result of kamma. So any priests & contemplatives who are
of the doctrine & view that whatever an individual feels – pleasure, pain,
neither pleasure-nor-pain – is entirely caused by what was done before – slip
past what they themselves know, slip past what is agreed on by the world.
Therefore I say that those priests & contemplatives are wrong.
– SN XXXVI.21[125]
§ 15. What, monks, is old kamma? The eye is to be seen as old kamma,
fabricated & willed, capable of being felt. The ear... The nose... The
tongue... The body... The intellect is to be seen as old kamma, fabricated &
willed, capable of being felt. This is called old kamma.
62 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
And what is new kamma? Whatever kamma one does now with the body,
with speech, or with the intellect. This is called new kamma.
And what is the cessation of kamma? Whoever touches the release that
comes from the cessation of bodily kamma, verbal kamma, & mental kamma.
That is called the cessation of kamma.
And what is the path of practice leading to the cessation of kamma? Just
this noble eightfold path... This is called the path of practice leading to the
cessation of kamma.
– SN XXXV.145[123]
§ 16. These four types of kamma have been understood, realized, &
made known by me. Which four? There is kamma that is dark with dark
result; kamma that is bright with bright result; kamma that is dark & bright
with dark & bright result; and kamma that is neither dark nor bright with
neither dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma.
And what is kamma that is dark with dark result? There is the case where
a certain person fabricates an injurious bodily fabrication... an injurious
verbal fabrication... an injurious mental fabrication... He rearises in an
injurious world where he is touched by injurious contacts... He experiences
feelings that are exclusively painful, like those of the beings in hell. This is
called kamma that is dark with dark result.
And what is kamma that is bright with bright result? There is the case
where a certain person fabricates an uninjurious bodily fabrication... an un-
injurious verbal fabrication... an uninjurious mental fabrication... He rearises
in an uninjurious world where he is touched by uninjurious contacts... He ex-
periences feelings that are exclusively pleasant, like those of the Ever-radiant
Devas. This is called kamma that is bright with bright result.
And what is kamma that is dark & bright with dark & bright result?
There is the case where a certain person fabricates a bodily fabrication that
is injurious & uninjurious... a verbal fabrication that is injurious & uninjuri-
ous... a mental fabrication that is injurious & uninjurious... He rearises in an
injurious & uninjurious world where he is touched by injurious & uninjurious
contacts... He experiences injurious & uninjurious feelings, pleasure mingled
with pain, like those of human beings, some devas, and some beings in the
lower realms. This is called kamma that is dark & bright with dark & bright
result.
And what is kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor
bright result, leading to the ending of kamma? The intention right there to
3.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 63
abandon this kamma that is dark with dark result, the intention right there
to abandon this kamma that is bright with bright result, the intention right
there to abandon this kamma that is dark & bright with dark & bright result.
This is called kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither dark nor
bright result, leading to the ending of kamma.
– AN IV.232 [A related discourse repeats most of the above, defining dark
kamma with dark result with the following example: "There is the case of
a certain person who kills living beings, steals what is not given, engages
in illicit sex, tells lies, and drinks fermented & distilled liquors that are
the basis for heedlessness," and bright kamma with bright result with the
following example: "There is the case of a certain person who abstains from
killing living beings, abstains from stealing what is not given, abstains from
engaging in illicit sex, abstains from telling lies, and abstains from drinking
fermented & distilled liquors that are the basis for heedlessness."]
– AN IV.234
§ 17. And what is kamma that is neither dark nor bright with neither
dark nor bright result, leading to the ending of kamma? Right view, right
resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mind-
fulness, right concentration.
– AN IV.235[15] [The discourse immediately following this is identical to
this except that it replaces the above factors of the noble eightfold path
with the following seven factors for Awakening: mindfulness as a factor for
Awakening, analysis of qualities... persistence... rapture... serenity... con-
centration... equanimity as a factor for Awakening.]
– AN IV.238
64 Chapter 3. Kamma & the Ending of Kamma
Part II
65
Chapter 4
Nowhere in the Canon does the Buddha list the seven sets of teachings under
the name of Wings to Awakening. He mentions the seven sets as a group
many times when he is summarizing his main teachings, but there is no firm
evidence as to whether he ever actually gave a name to the group. In one
passage he applies the term "wings to self-Awakening" to the five faculties
[§77]; and in two passages [§§24-25] he makes reference to the seven Wings to
Awakening, which may or may not denote the seven sets. Nevertheless, given
the fact that the Buddha called the five faculties wings to self-Awakening,
and all seven sets are equivalent to the five faculties, the name "Wings to
Awakening" for all seven seems appropriate. This was the name that they
definitely had in early post-canonical texts, such as the Petakopadesa, and
that they have maintained ever since.
The seven sets have played an important role throughout the history
of Buddhism, in all of its various branches. They provided the framework
for the earliest Abhidhamma texts, systematic presentations of the doctrine
that were added to the early Canons a few centuries after the Buddha’s
passing away. They were also part of the first Buddhist text translated
into Chinese, and later came to exemplify "Hinayana" teachings in T’ien-t’ai
and other Chinese doctrinal systems. Tantric Buddhism features mandalas
containing 37 deities, symbolic of the 37 factors making up the seven sets.
Tibetan architecture, probably following the treatises of the medieval Indian
universities, identifies the various parts of standard stupa design as symbols
of the seven sets. Thus the Wings provide one of the few common threads
that, in actual or symbolic form, run through all the traditions claiming
descent from the Buddha.
67
68 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
One of the peculiarities of the Wings, viewed as a whole, is that two sets
are duplicates: the five faculties and the five strengths contain the same five
factors. Several theories have been advanced as to why the Buddha included
what is essentially the same set twice. One is that he wanted to indicate
that the five factors that make up each set could exist in the mind in two
distinct levels of intensity, one sufficient for the path to stream-entry, the
first level of Awakening, and the other needed for Arahantship, the highest
level. This may parallel the passage [§106] where the Buddha makes a similar
distinction between the noble eightfold path of stream-entry and the tenfold
path of Arahantship. There is some disagreement among later writers as to
which of the two sets, the faculties or the strengths, should be considered the
more intense, although there is one canonical passage [§85] where the term
"faculty" seems to rank on a higher level than "strength."
Another hypothesis – not necessarily at odds with the first – is that the
Buddha wanted the number of factors to total 37 because the number had
symbolic meaning. In ancient times, before the development of the decimal
system, multiplication tables were arranged in hexagonal patterns. The com-
plete table used to calculate the ratios used in tuning musical instruments
to reciprocal scales – scales that played the same notes going up as going
down – had one member in the middle surrounded by three hexagonal rings
containing, in ascending order, six, twelve, and eighteen members, giving a
total of 37 members. (See the diagram on the back cover of this book.) The
table of whole-number ratios that formed the basis for trigonometry, and
thus for the study of astronomy, contained 37 members. Thus the number
37 carried connotations of basic completeness. This principle is at work in
Plato’s Laws, where the ideal city has 37 guardians, and it may also be at
work here.
A related consideration may be that the number seven, in the seven sets,
was symbolic of treasure. The sea, in the time of the Buddha, was said
to have seven treasures [§18], and the universal monarch was said to have
seven treasures that formed his spontaneous regalia [MN 129]. The Buddha
explicitly borrows this number symbolism when he states that the seven sets
are the treasures of his teaching.
Another possibility, which we have already noted [I/A (Section I)], is
that musicians in the Buddha’s time recognized seven systems for tuning
the musical scale – all other systems being rejected as discordant – and
the Buddha may have borrowed this numerical symbolism to suggest that
his teachings formed a complete guide to all the possible ways in which a
69
Samana – a person in tune (sama) – could tune his or her mind to the truth.
From a less historical and more practical point of view, the important
question about the seven sets is how they fit into the general plan of Buddhist
practice. Their role is most succinctly stated in §25: the development of the
seven sets follows on the development of virtue and leads naturally into the
development of transcendent discernment, thus filling the role that other
passages assign to concentration practice. This suggests – and again, the
suggestion is borne out by passages that deal with the issue in more detail
– that the seven sets are to be developed in the course of a concentration
practice based on a moral life and aimed at the development of discernment.
When §23 ends its list of preconditions for the practice of the seven sets with
four meditation practices – actually three, as the perception of inconstancy is
an integral part of mindfulness of in-and-out breathing – it is simply listing
the concentration practices most frequently recommended in the texts as
focal points for developing the skills of the seven sets. Nevertheless, although
the seven sets focus most specifically on the practice of concentration, the
close interconnections among virtue, concentration, and discernment mean
that the sets include the factors of virtue and discernment as well, thus
encompassing the entire path of Buddhist practice.
A virtuous and moral life as an absolute prerequisite for practicing the
sets. This is a point that cannot be overstated, a fact reflected in the large
number of canonical passages that hammer it home: far too many to include
in this anthology. Some of the sets – the five faculties/strengths and the
noble eightfold path – actually include the practice of a virtuous life in their
factors, under the faculty/strength of conviction, and under the factors of
right speech, right action, and right livelihood in the eightfold path. The
remaining sets, the texts tell us, are meant to follow on the development of
personal virtue in the same way that sunrise follows on the pre-dawn colors
in the eastern sky.
The texts give the precepts that underline a virtuous life, not as rules
imposed by an outside authority, but as guidelines for action that a person
would voluntarily undertake when accepting the importance of the princi-
ples of kamma and skillful action in shaping the course of one’s experiences.
Killing, for instance, is obviously an unskillful action when viewed in the full
light of its kammic consequences. The same holds true with other actions for-
bidden by the precepts, such as drinking alcohol, stealing, illicit sex, lying,
and abusive language. [For a more complete list, see §§103-104.] Passage
§103 shows that the Buddha’s teachings on virtue consist not only of the
70 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
"don’t’s" of the precepts, but also of the "do’s" of such positive standards
as sympathy, reliability, and genuine helpfulness. Skillfulness is not simply a
matter of avoiding bad consequences; it also actively cultivates the good.
In keeping with the teaching that kamma is essentially intention, the pre-
cepts are designed to focus on the state of mind motivating the act. A precept
is broken only when one does so intentionally. Thus the practice of observing
the precepts requires constant attention to the factor of intention in one’s
actions; it also requires that one develop the "sublime attitudes" (brahma-
vihara) of good will, compassion, appreciation, and equanimity [§98], which
strengthen one’s ability to side with skillful intentions. In this way, the Bud-
dha’s approach to morality is to use the realm of personal action as an arena
for the comprehensive training of the mind.
These three aspects of the Buddhist approach to morality – the avoidance
of bad kamma, the development of skillful mental states, and the purification
of intention – follow the pattern of the heart of the Buddha’s teachings as
presented in the first verse of §7. They also explain why virtue is a neces-
sary foundation for the practice of concentration: A moral life brings about
absence of remorse [AN X.1]; people who, in all honesty, have no reason for
remorse over their actions or for anxiety over their consequences, feel a nat-
ural sense of inner joy. This joy is intensified when they reflect on the positive
acts of kindness and generosity that they have performed for others. Thus
intensified, this joy then provides the basis for the inner pleasure that allows
for concentration. In this way, a healthy sense of self-worth is a necessary
precondition for a stable mind [§238].
In addition, the practice of virtue forces one to develop a number of
the "concentration" factors in the sets themselves, on a preliminary level of
skill, thus making them strong and fit for formal concentration practice. To
maintain a precept, one must keep it constantly in mind: this strengthens
mindfulness. One must stick to one’s determination to abide by one’s prin-
ciples: this strengthens persistence. One must pay attention to the present
moment, for that is where the decision to keep or break a precept is made;
and one must remain firm in one’s cultivation of the sublime attitudes: these
factors strengthen concentration. One must be clear about one’s motives
for acting, and at the same time be sensitive in knowing how to apply a
particular precept to one’s present situation: e.g., being quick to see how
to avoid an issue in which telling the truth might be harmful, yet without
telling a lie. This strengthens one’s ability to analyze the mind in the present
moment, intensifying one’s powers of discernment in general. These four fac-
71
• Arahantship – which cuts the fetters of passion for form, passion for
formlessness, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance – bringing total free-
dom from the cycle of rebirth.
74 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
In all four levels, the basic dynamic is the same: virtue, concentration, and
discernment bring the mind skillfully to a state of "non-fashioning" (atam-
mayata) [§179] where all present input into the cycle of kamma is suspended.
This state of non-fashioning then opens the way for the experience of the
Unfabricated. To put this in terms of the two knowledges that constitute
Awakening, the skillful mastery of the processes of kamma to the point of non-
fashioning corresponds to the knowledge of the regularity of the Dhamma,
and the experience of the Unfabricated corresponds to the knowledge of Un-
binding.
Although all four levels require mature levels of the path factors of virtue,
concentration, and discernment to bring about the two knowledges that con-
stitute Awakening, they differ in the relative maturity of the path factors that
lead up to them. Stream-entry occurs at the full maturation of virtue; non-
returning, at the full maturation of concentration; and Arahantship, at the
full maturation of discernment [AN III.88; MFU, pp. 103[149, p103]]. Thus
they also differ in the depth to which they penetrate the two knowledges of
Awakening and in their ability to cut the fetters that perpetuate bondage to
the cycle of kamma and rebirth. The texts report a few cases where med-
itators go straight through all four levels to the level of Arahantship, but
in most cases the meditator will pass through the four levels step-by-step,
sometimes over course of many years or even several lifetimes.
In this book, except where otherwise noted, discussions of the Awakening
experience as described in the discourses focus on the level where virtue,
concentration, and discernment are all fully mature, the Awakening total,
and the resulting freedom absolutely unlimited. This is the point where all
seven sets of the Wings to Awakening ultimately aim.
– AN VIII.19
§ 19. Then [after relinquishing the will to continue fabricating his life
processes] the Blessed One went to the audience hall and on arrival sat down
on the seat prepared for him. When he was seated, he addressed the monks:
’The qualities I have pointed out, having known them directly: You should
grasp them thoroughly, cultivate them, develop them, & pursue them so that
this holy life may long endure & remain steadfast for the benefit, welfare, &
happiness of the multitude, out of sympathy for the world, for the benefit,
welfare, & happiness of human & celestial beings. And what are those quali-
ties? The four frames of reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of
power, the five faculties, the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening,
the noble eightfold path. These are the qualities I have pointed out, having
known them directly, that you should grasp thoroughly, cultivate, develop,
& pursue... for the benefit, welfare, & happiness of human & celestial be-
ings.’ Then the Blessed One addressed the monks, ’I exhort you, monks:
All fabrications are subject to decay. Bring about completion by means of
heedfulness. It will not be long before the Tathagata’s total Unbinding. He
will attain total Unbinding in three month’s time.’
That is what the Blessed One said. Then... he said further:
Young & old
wise & foolish
rich & poor:
all end up dying.
As a potter’s clay vessels
large & small
fired & unfired
all end up broken,
so too life
heads to death.
Then the Teacher said further:
Ripe my age, little the life
remaining to me.
Leaving you, I will go,
having made a refuge
for myself.
Be heedful, monks,
76 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
mindful, virtuous.
With your resolves well-concentrated,
look after your minds.
He who, in this
doctrine & discipline,
remains heedful,
leaving the round
of birth,
will make an end
of stress.
– DN 16[45]
§ 20. Suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs: If she doesn’t cover
them rightly, warm them rightly, or incubate them rightly, then even though
this wish may occur to her – ’O that my chicks might break through the egg
shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out safely!’ – still it is not
possible that the chicks will break through the egg shells with their spiked
claws or beaks and hatch out safely. Why is that? Because the hen has not
covered them rightly, warmed them rightly, or incubated them rightly. In the
same way, even though this wish may occur to a monk who dwells without
devoting himself to development – ’O that my mind might be released from
effluents through lack of clinging!’ – still his mind is not released from the
effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that? From lack of developing,
it should be said. Lack of developing what? The four frames of reference,
the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties, the five
strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path...
But suppose a hen has eight, ten, or twelve eggs that she covers rightly,
warms rightly, & incubates rightly: Even though this wish may not occur to
her – ’O that my chicks might break through the egg shells with their spiked
claws or beaks and hatch out safely!’ – still it is possible that the chicks will
break through the egg shells with their spiked claws or beaks and hatch out
safely. Why is that? Because the hen has covered them, warmed them, &
incubated them rightly. In the same way, even though this wish may not
occur to a monk who dwells devoting himself to development – ’O that my
mind might be released from effluents through lack of clinging!’ – still his
mind is released from the effluents through lack of clinging. Why is that?
From developing, it should be said. Developing what? The four frames of
reference, the four right exertions, the four bases of power, the five faculties,
4.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 77
the five strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, the noble eightfold path.
Just as when a carpenter or carpenter’s apprentice sees the marks of his
fingers or thumb on the handle of his adze but does not know, ’Today my
adze handle wore down this much, or yesterday it wore down that much, or
the day before yesterday it wore down this much,’ still he knows it is worn
through when it is worn through. In the same way, when a monk dwells
devoting himself to development, he does not know, ’Today my effluents
wore down this much, or yesterday they wore down that much, or the day
before yesterday they wore down this much,’ still he knows they are worn
through when they are worn through.
Just as when an ocean-going ship, rigged with masts & stays, after six
months on the water, is left on shore for the winter: Its stays, weathered
by the heat & wind, moistened by the clouds of the rainy season, easily
wither & rot away. In the same way, when a monk dwells devoting himself
to development, his fetters easily wither & rot away.
– AN VII.68
§ 21. A certain monk went to his preceptor and on arrival said to him,
’My body, sir, now feels like it’s drugged. I’ve lost my bearings. Things are
unclear to me. Sloth & drowsiness surround my mind at all times. I am
unhappy in leading the holy life. I have doubts about mental qualities (or:
things – dhammas).’
Then the preceptor, taking his student, went to see the Buddha (and told
him what his student had said. The Buddha replied:)
’That’s the way it is for a person who does not guard the doors to his
sense faculties, who does not know moderation in eating, who is not devoted
to wakefulness, who does not clearly understand skillful qualities, and who
is not devoted day after day to the development of the wings to Awaken-
ing... Thus you should train yourself, monk: "I will guard my senses, will
know moderation in eating, will devote myself to wakefulness, will clearly
understand skillful qualities, and will devote myself day after day to the de-
velopment of the wings to Awakening." That’s how you should train yourself.
Then the monk, having received this instruction from the Blessed One,
got up from his seat, bowed down, circled the Blessed One, keeping him on
his right, and then went away. Dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, &
resolute, he in no long time reached & remained in the supreme goal of the
holy life, for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness,
knowing it & realizing it for himself in the here & now. He knew: ’Birth is
78 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for the
sake of this world.’ And thus he became another one of the Arahants.
– AN V.56
§ 22. Endowed with three qualities, a monk is one who follows the way
that cannot be faulted and he has aroused the basis for ending the effluents.
Which three? There is the case where a monk guards the doors to his sense
faculties, knows moderation in eating, & is devoted to wakefulness.
And how does a monk guard the doors to his sense faculties? There is
the case where a monk, on seeing a form with the eye, does not grasp at any
theme or variations by which – if he were to dwell without restraint over the
faculty of the eye – evil, unskillful qualities such as greed or distress might
assail him. He practices with restraint. He guards the faculty of the eye. He
achieves restraint with regard to the faculty of the eye. (Similarly with the
ear, nose, tongue, body & intellect.) This is how a monk guards the doors
to his sense faculties.
And how does a monk know moderation in eating? There is the case
where a monk, considering it appropriately, takes his food not playfully, nor
for intoxication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification, but simply
for the survival & continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the
support of the holy life, thinking, ’I will destroy old feelings [of hunger] &
not create new feelings [from overeating]. Thus I will maintain myself, be
blameless, & live in comfort.’ This is how a monk knows moderation in
eating.
And how is a monk devoted to wakefulness? There is the case where a
monk during the day, sitting & pacing back & forth, cleanses his mind of any
qualities that would hold the mind in check. During the first watch of the
night [dusk to 10 p.m.], sitting & pacing back & forth, he cleanses his mind
of any qualities that would hold the mind in check. During the second watch
of the night [10 p.m. to 2 a.m.], reclining on his right side, he takes up the
lion’s posture, one foot placed on top of the other, mindful, alert, with his
mind set on getting up [either as soon as he awakens or at a particular time].
During the last watch of the night [2 a.m. to dawn], sitting & pacing back
& forth, he cleanses his mind of any qualities that would hold the mind in
check. This is how a monk is devoted to wakefulness.
Endowed with these three qualities, a monk is one who follows the way
that cannot be faulted and he has aroused the basis for ending the effluents.
– AN III.16
4.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 79
§ 23. Monks, if wanderers who are members of other sects should ask
you, ’What, friend, are the prerequisites for the development of the wings to
self-awakening?’... you should answer, ’There is the case where a monk has
has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades. This is the first
prerequisite for the development of the wings to self-awakening.
’Furthermore, the monk is virtuous. He dwells restrained in accordance
with the Patimokkha, consummate in his behavior & sphere of activity. He
trains himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing danger in the
slightest faults. This is the second prerequisite for the development of the
wings to self-awakening.
’Furthermore, he gets to hear at will, easily & without difficulty, talk
that is truly sobering & conducive to the opening of awareness, i.e., talk on
modesty, on contentment, on seclusion, on non-entanglement, on arousing
persistence, on virtue, on concentration, on discernment, on release, and on
the knowledge & vision of release. This is the third prerequisite for the
development of the wings to self-awakening.
’Furthermore, he keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful
mental qualities and for taking on skillful mental qualities. He is steadfast,
solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental qual-
ities. This is the fourth prerequisite for the development of the wings to
self-awakening.
’Furthermore, he is discerning, endowed with the discernment of arising &
passing away – noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. This
is the fifth prerequisite for the development of the wings to self-awakening.’
Monks, when a monk has has admirable people as friends, companions, &
comrades, it is to be expected that he will be virtuous, will dwell restrained
in accordance with the Patimokkha, consummate in his behavior & sphere of
activity, and will train himself, having undertaken the training rules, seeing
danger in the slightest faults.
When a monk has has admirable people as friends, companions, & com-
rades, it is to be expected that he will get to hear at will, easily & without dif-
ficulty, talk that is truly sobering and conducive to the opening of awareness,
i.e., talk on modesty, on contentment, on seclusion, on non-entanglement, on
arousing persistence, on virtue, on concentration, on discernment, on release,
and on the knowledge & vision of release... that he will keep his persistence
aroused for abandoning unskillful mental qualities, and for taking on skillful
mental qualities – steadfast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with
regard to skillful mental qualities... that he will be discerning, endowed with
80 Chapter 4. The Treasures of the Teaching
The four frames of reference (satipatthana) are a set of teachings that show
where a meditator should focus attention and how. This dual role – the
"where" and the "how" – is reflected in the fact that the term satipatthana
can be explained etymologically in two ways. On the one hand, it can be
regarded as a compound of sati (mindfulness, reference, the ability to keep
something in mind) and patthana (foundation, condition, source), thus re-
ferring to the object that is kept in mind as a frame of reference for giving
context to one’s experience. Alternatively, satipatthana can be seen as a
compound of sati and upatthana (establishing near, setting near), thus re-
ferring to the approach (the how) of keeping something closely in mind, of
maintaining a solid frame of reference. Scholars are divided as to which inter-
pretation is right, but for all practical purposes they both are. The Buddha
was more a poet than a strict etymologist, and he may have deliberately cho-
sen an ambiguous term that would have fruitful meanings on more than one
level. In the practice of the frames of reference, both the proper object and
the proper approach are crucial for getting the proper results. In fact, as we
shall see, the taking of a proper object entails the beginning of the proper ap-
proach, and the approach ends by taking as its objects the qualities of mind
developed in the course of pursuing the approach itself. In other words, as
we mentioned in the Introduction concerning the Buddha’s Awakening, the
"what" merges with the "how" as the "how" of the investigation ultimately
becomes what gets investigated.
The texts give two different pictures of the role that the frames of ref-
erence play in the practice. Some [§§33-34, 36] state that developing the
frames of reference is a precondition for jhana, which then forms a basis for
83
84 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
the body as a frame of reference, one tries to relate them to the experience
of the body as their primary frame. A feeling is viewed as it affects the body,
or the body affects it. The same holds for a mind state. An analogy for this
practice is holding an object in one’s hand. When other objects come into
contact with the hand, one is aware that they are making contact, but one
does not let go of the object in one’s hand in order to grasp after them.
The second class of objects – mental qualities (dhamma) – denotes the
qualities of mind that are developed and abandoned as one masters the med-
itation. The list of "dhammas" given in §30 would seem to belie the trans-
lation "mental qualities" here, as they include not only the five hindrances
and seven factors for Awakening, which are obviously mental qualities, but
also the five aggregates, the six sense media, and the four noble truths,
which would seem to fit better with another meaning of the word dhamma,
i.e., "phenomena." However, if we look more closely at each of these other
classes, we will see that they actually deal with variant forms of abandoning
the hindrances and developing the factors for Awakening. The section on the
sense media focuses less on the media than on the abandoning of the fetters –
passion and delight (SN XLI.1; MFU pp. 52-53[148, p52]) – associated with
those media. The section on the aggregates describes a state of practice that
is elsewhere [§149] identified as a developed form of concentration, in which
the aggregates that comprise the state of jhana form the object of analysis
[§173]. The section on the noble truths describes a state of practice that else-
where [§169] is said to require the sort of mental stability and clarity found
only in jhana. Thus all the approaches to "dhammas in and of themselves"
would appear to be variations on the abandoning of the hindrances and the
development of the factors for Awakening. Because the stated function of
the frames of reference is to bring about the culmination of the factors for
Awakening, and through them the development of clear knowing and release
[§92], the translation of dhamma as "mental quality" seems an appropriate
way to keep that function in mind and to avoid getting lost in the details of
its different aspects.
There is historical support for this interpretation as well. The Vibhanga,
an ancient Abhidhamma text, includes only the hindrances and the factors
for Awakening in its discussion of this heading. The same holds true with
the Sarvastivadin version of this discourse, preserved in Chinese translation.
Scholars have questioned whether these two texts should be taken as evidence
that the original discussion of dhamma here included only these two topics.
The issue is impossible to decide from the texts available to us, but a case
86 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
can be made for concluding that, regardless of what the original version may
have been, the early tradition regarded the abandoning of the hindrances
and the development of the factors for Awakening as encompassing all the
factors that might be included under this heading.
Each of the four objects of mindfulness is said to be sufficient for bringing
about Awakening [§44]. This point is easy to understand if we look at the
approach taken to each of the objects, for then it becomes clear that the
approach ultimately involves the development of mental qualities in and of
themselves, regardless of what object is first taken up for meditation.
That approach falls into three stages. The first stage – here taking the
body as an example – is simply called the frame of reference [§29]:
Four terms here are key. "Remaining focused" (anupassin) can also be trans-
lated as "keeping track." This denotes the element of concentration in the
practice, as one tries to stay with one particular theme in the midst of the
welter of experience. "Ardent" (atapi) denotes the factor of effort or exer-
tion in the practice; the Commentary equates this with right exertion, which
contains an element of discernment in its ability to distinguish skillful from
unskillful mental qualities. "Alert" (sampajano) means being clearly aware of
what is happening in the present. This, too, relates to discernment. "Mind-
ful" (satima) literally means being able to remember or recollect. Here it
means keeping one’s task in mind. The task here is a dual one – remain-
ing focused on one’s frame of reference, and putting aside the distractions
of greed and distress that would come from shifting one’s frame of reference
back to the world. In other words, one tries to stay with the phenomenology
of immediate experience, without slipping back into the narratives and world
views that make up one’s sense of the world. In essence, this is a concentra-
tion practice, with the three qualities of ardency, alertness, and mindfulness
devoted to attaining concentration. Mindfulness keeps the theme of the med-
itation in mind, alertness observes the theme as it is present to awareness,
and also is aware of when the mind has slipped from its theme. Mindful-
ness then remembers where the mind should be focused, and ardency tries
to return the mind to its proper theme as quickly and skillfully as possi-
ble. In this way, these three qualities help to seclude the mind from sensual
87
me.’
In watching the course of this arising and passing away as one tries to bring
the mind to the equanimity of jhana, one should begin to see patterns of
cause and effect in what does and doesn’t work. This enables one skillfully
to give rise to equanimity even when it is not present of its own accord, and
– once it is present – can strengthen it until it reaches the point of utmost
development:
He discerns how there is the arising of unarisen equanimity as
a factor for Awakening. And he discerns how there is the culmina-
tion of the development of equanimity as a factor for Awakening
once it has arisen.
A similar process is recommended for events in the "object" frames of ref-
erence. This is shown by the standard description of the sixteen steps of
breath meditation [§31]. One trains oneself to breathe conscious of the en-
tire body, or to breathe sensitive to feelings of rapture and pleasure, as this
training fosters the factors of jhana. One trains oneself to satisfy, steady, and
release the mind, as this training brings mastery over the stages of jhana.
Passage §179 makes a similar point, directing the meditator to replace un-
skillful forms of distress, joy, and equanimity with more skillful versions of
the same emotions, and then replacing skillful distress with skillful joy, and
skillful joy with skillful equanimity.
As this process leads to stronger and more refined states of concentration,
it refines one’s sensitivity to the fact that the grosser one’s participation in
the process of origination and passing away in the mind, the grosser the level
of stress that results. This leads one to let go of the grosser levels of one’s
participation as one is able to detect them. This can have one of two results.
(1) It may lead to even more refined states of concentration, as one abandons
the factors that obscure equanimity, or as one focuses one’s equanimity on
ever more refined objects. (2) Or, as one becomes able to focus on the activity
involved even in refining equanimity, one comes to realize that it, too, is a
process of input into the present, fabricated for the sake of non-becoming
[§182]. Thus, as a sense of dispassion develops toward equanimity, one goes
beyond it to a state called non-fashioning (atammayata) [§179], through the
third and final stage of frames-of-reference practice:
Or his mindfulness that ’There is a body (feeling, mind, men-
tal quality)’ is maintained [simply] to the extent of knowledge &
91
The texts contained in this section, for the most part, provide added
details to the outline sketched here. For example, §§45-46 provide a variation
on stage two by showing how mindfulness can be developed into equanimity
by manipulating perceptions, viewing loathsome objects as unloathsome, and
unloathsome objects as loathsome, etc. Anyone attempting these perception
games needs firm powers of concentration and sharp discernment so as not
to become obsessed with perceptual distortions (sañña vipallasa). If handled
properly, though, the process of manipulation gives important insights into
the way the mind hypertargets its objects, and can drive home lessons on
the arbitrary nature of perception and the need not to be deceived by it.
The same point holds true for the contemplation of body parts mentioned
in §30. This contemplation has been denounced in Western circles for pro-
moting a negative self-image, but here it is necessary to distinguish between
healthy and unhealthy negative images of one’s own body. An unhealthy
negative image is one that views the bodies of other people as attractive,
and one’s own as unattractive. This is unhealthy in that it creates feelings
of inferiority concerning one’s own body, compounded by lust and desire for
the bodies of others. A healthy negative image sees that all bodies, no mat-
ter how attractive, young, or healthy they may seem at the skin level, are
composed of the very same parts, all equally unattractive. The livers and
intestines of even the most attractive people, if paraded down a walkway,
would never capture a title in a beauty contest; if featured in an advertise-
ment, they wouldn’t sell. Thus there is no real reason to feel that one’s body
is inherently inferior to theirs. This perception of the equality of all bodies,
if handled properly, is healthy in that it helps liberate one not only from
feelings of inferiority but also from the disease of lust and desire, promot-
ing a sense of dispassion toward lustful thoughts in general. As this theme
of contemplation is developed through hands-on manipulation of one’s per-
ception of the body, it enables one to realize that, when reduced to their
simple "bodyness," as bodies in and of themselves, all bodies are on a par,
and that questions of attractiveness and unattractiveness derive ultimately
from the context of one’s frame of reference. One sees that the obstacles to
equanimity and higher insights in the practice are not so much the objects
of lust or hatred as they are the terms and contexts in which those objects
are perceived. This insight can form the basis for perceptual skills that can
act as a very liberating antidote to the mind’s tendency to self-delusion.
One passage contained here that does not deal with the stages of frames-
of-reference meditation is §47. This passage focuses on a charge that has
93
ening – that the Buddha allows for the possibility of helping others with no
thought for one’s own welfare, for at that point one’s true welfare has no
further needs. The Awakened person lives out the remainder of his/her life,
insofar as his/her kamma allows, for "the welfare of the many, the happiness
of the many, out of compassion for the world" [Mv.11.1].
– AN VIII.81
§ 27. Uttiya: It would be good, lord, if the Blessed One would teach me
the Dhamma in brief so that, having heard the Dhamma from the Blessed
One, I might dwell alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute.
The Buddha: In that case, Uttiya, you should purify what is most basic
with regard to skillful mental qualities. And what is the basis of skillful
mental qualities? Well-purified virtue & views made straight. Then, when
your virtue is well-purified and your views made straight, in dependence on
virtue, established in virtue, you should develop the four frames of reference...
Then, when in dependence on virtue, relying on virtue, you develop the four
frames of reference, you will go beyond the realm of Death.
– SN XLVII.16
§ 28. Mindful & Alert. Stay mindful, monks, and alert. This is our
instruction to you all. And how is a monk mindful? There is the case where
a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful
– putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains
focused on feelings... mind... mental qualities in & of themselves – ardent,
alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world
[§213]. This is how a monk is mindful.
And how is a monk alert? There is the case where feelings are known
to the monk as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside.
Thoughts are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as
they subside. Discernment (vl: perception) is known to him as it arises,
known as it persists, known as it subsides. This is how a monk is alert. So
stay mindful, monks, and alert. This is our instruction to you all.
– SN XLVII.35
§ 29. Analysis. I will teach you the frames of reference, their develop-
ment, and the path of practice leading to their development. Listen & pay
close attention. I will speak.
Now, what are the frames of reference? There is the case where a monk
remains focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting
aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on
feelings... mind... mental qualities in & of themselves – ardent, alert, &
mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. These
are called the frames of reference.
And what is the development of the frames of reference? There is the
96 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
seeds, husked rice – and a man with good eyesight, pouring it out, were to
reflect, ’This is wheat. This is rice. These are mung beans. These are kidney
beans. These are sesame seeds. This is husked rice,’ in the same way, monks,
a monk reflects on this very body from the soles of the feet on up, from the
crown of the head on down, surrounded by skin and full of various kinds of
unclean things: ’In this body there are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth,
skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen,
lungs, large intestines, small intestines, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood,
sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine.’ [§66]
In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or
focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a
monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[e] Furthermore... just as a skilled butcher or his apprentice, having
killed a cow, would sit at a crossroads cutting it up into pieces, the monk
contemplates this very body – however it stands, however it is disposed –
in terms of properties: ’In this body there is the earth property, the liquid
property, the fire property, & the wind property.’
In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or
focused externally... unsustained by anything in the world. This is how a
monk remains focused on the body in & of itself.
[f] Furthermore, as if he were to see a corpse cast away in a charnel ground
– one day, two days, three days dead – bloated, livid, & festering, he applies
it to this very body, ’This body, too: Such is its nature, such is its future,
such its unavoidable fate’...
Or again, as if he were to see a corpse cast away in a charnel ground,
picked at by crows, vultures, & hawks, by dogs, hyenas, & various other
creatures... a skeleton smeared with flesh & blood, connected with tendons...
a fleshless skeleton smeared with blood, connected with tendons... a skeleton
without flesh or blood, connected with tendons... bones detached from their
tendons, scattered in all directions – here a hand bone, there a foot bone,
here a shin bone, there a thigh bone, here a hip bone, there a back bone,
here a rib, there a chest bone, here a shoulder bone, there a neck bone, here
a jaw bone, there a tooth, here a skull... the bones whitened, somewhat like
the color of shells... piled up, more than a year old... decomposed into a
powder: He applies it to this very body, ’This body, too: Such is its nature,
such is its future, such its unavoidable fate.’
In this way he remains focused internally on the body in & of itself, or
externally on the body in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 99
is without aversion. When the mind has delusion, he discerns that the mind
has delusion. When the mind is without delusion, he discerns that the mind
is without delusion.
When the mind is restricted, he discerns that the mind is restricted.
When the mind is scattered, he discerns that the mind is scattered. When
the mind is enlarged, he discerns that the mind is enlarged. When the mind
is not enlarged, he discerns that the mind is not enlarged. When the mind
is surpassed, he discerns that the mind is surpassed. When the mind is
unsurpassed, he discerns that the mind is unsurpassed. When the mind is
concentrated, he discerns that the mind is concentrated. When the mind is
not concentrated, he discerns that the mind is not concentrated. When the
mind is released, he discerns that the mind is released. When the mind is
not released, he discerns that the mind is not released.
In this way he remains focused internally on the mind in & of itself, or
externally on the mind in & of itself, or both internally & externally on the
mind in & of itself. Or he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination
with regard to the mind, on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to
the mind, or on the phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard
to the mind. Or his mindfulness that ’There is a mind’ is maintained to
the extent of knowledge & recollection. And he remains unsustained by (not
clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on
the mind in & of itself.
MENTAL QUALITIES
And how does a monk remain focused on mental qualities in & of them-
selves?
[a] There is the case where a monk remains focused on mental qualities
in & of themselves with reference to the five hindrances. And how does a
monk remain focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference
to the five hindrances? There is the case where, there being sensual desire
present within, a monk discerns that ’There is sensual desire present within
me.’ Or, there being no sensual desire present within, he discerns that ’There
is no sensual desire present within me.’ He discerns how there is the arising
of unarisen sensual desire. And he discerns how there is the abandoning of
sensual desire once it has arisen. And he discerns how there is no further
arising in the future of sensual desire that has been abandoned. (The same
formula is repeated for the remaining hindrances: ill will, sloth & drowsiness,
restlessness & anxiety, and uncertainty.)
In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 101
seven factors for Awakening? There is the case where, there being mindful-
ness as a factor for Awakening present within, he discerns that ’Mindfulness
as a factor for Awakening is present within me.’ Or, there being no mindful-
ness as a factor for Awakening present within, he discerns that ’Mindfulness
as a factor for Awakening is not present within me.’ He discerns how there
is the arising of unarisen mindfulness as a factor for Awakening. And he
discerns how there is the culmination of the development of mindfulness as
a factor for Awakening once it has arisen. (The same formula is repeated
for the remaining factors for Awakening: analysis of qualities, persistence,
rapture, serenity, concentration, & equanimity.)
In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of
themselves, or externally... unsustained by (not clinging to) anything in the
world. This is how a monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of
themselves with reference to the seven factors for Awakening.
[e] Furthermore, the monk remains focused on mental qualities in & of
themselves with reference to the four noble truths. And how does he remain
focused on mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the four
noble truths? There is the case where he discerns, as it is actually present,
that ’This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation
of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress."
In this way he remains focused internally on mental qualities in & of
themselves, or externally on mental qualities in & of themselves, or both
internally & externally on mental qualities in & of themselves. Or he remains
focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to mental qualities, on
the phenomenon of passing away with regard to mental qualities, or on the
phenomenon of origination & passing away with regard to mental qualities.
Or his mindfulness that ’There are mental qualities’ is maintained to the
extent of knowledge & recollection. And he remains unsustained by (not
clinging to) anything in the world. This is how a monk remains focused on
mental qualities in & of themselves with reference to the four noble truths.
[§§184-240]
Now, if anyone would develop these four frames of reference in this way
for seven years, then one of two fruits can be expected for him: either gnosis
[the knowledge of Awakening] right here & now, or – if there be any remnant
of clinging/sustenance – non-return.
Let alone seven years. If anyone would develop these four frames of
reference in this way for six years... five... four... three... two years... one
year... seven months... six months... five... four... three... two months... one
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 103
month... half a month, then one of two fruits can be expected for him: either
gnosis right here & now, or – if there be any remnant of clinging/sustenance
– non-return.
Let alone half a month. If anyone would develop these four frames of
reference in this way for seven days, then one of two fruits can be expected
for him: either gnosis right here & now, or – if there be any remnant of
clinging/sustenance – non-return.
’This is the direct path for the purification of beings, for the overcoming
of sorrow & lamentation, for the disappearance of pain & distress, for the
attainment of the right method, & for the realization of Unbinding – in other
words, the four frames of reference.’ Thus was it said, and in reference to
this was it said.
– MN 10[69]
§ 31. In practice. Now, how is mindfulness of in-&-out breathing
developed & pursued so as to bring the four frames of reference to culmina-
tion?
On whatever occasion a monk breathing in long discerns that he is breath-
ing in long; or breathing out long, discerns that he is breathing out long; or
breathing in short, discerns that he is breathing in short; or breathing out
short, discerns that he is breathing out short; trains himself to breathe in...
&... out sensitive to the entire body; trains himself to breathe in... &... out
calming bodily fabrication: On that occasion the monk remains focused on
the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – subduing greed & dis-
tress with reference to the world. I tell you, monks, that this – the in-&-out
breath – is classed as a body among bodies, which is why the monk on that
occasion remains focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful
– putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
On whatever occasion a monk trains himself to breathe in... &... out
sensitive to rapture; trains himself to breathe in... &... out sensitive to plea-
sure; trains himself to breathe in... &... out sensitive to mental fabrication;
trains himself to breathe in... &... out calming mental fabrication: On that
occasion the monk remains focused on feelings in & of themselves – ardent,
alert, & mindful – subduing greed & distress with reference to the world. I
tell you, monks, that this – close attention to in-&-out breaths – is classed
as a feeling among feelings, which is why the monk on that occasion remains
focused on feelings in & of themselves – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting
aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
104 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
’Come, friends, remain focused on the body in & of itself – being ar-
dent, alert, with your minds unified, clear, concentrated, & single-minded
for knowledge of the body as it actually is. Remain focused on feelings in
& of themselves... focused on the mind in & of itself... focused on mental
qualities in & of themselves – being ardent, alert, one-pointed, with your
minds unified, clear, concentrated, & single-minded for knowledge of mental
qualities as they actually are.’
Monks, even those who are learners – who have yet to attain their hearts’
desire, who stay resolved on the unsurpassed security from bondage – even
they remain focused on the body in & of itself – being ardent, alert, one-
pointed, with their minds unified, clear, concentrated, & single-minded for
complete comprehension of the body. They remain focused on feelings in &
of themselves... focused on the mind in & of itself... focused on mental qual-
ities in & of themselves – being ardent, alert, one-pointed, with their minds
unified, clear, concentrated, & single-minded for complete comprehension of
mental qualities.
Even those who are Arahants – whose mental effluents are ended, who
have reached fulfillment, done the task, laid down the burden, attained the
true goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and who are released
through right gnosis – even they remain focused on the body in & of itself
– being ardent, alert, one-pointed, with their minds unified, clear, concen-
trated, & single-minded, disjoined from the body. They remain focused on
feelings in & of themselves... focused on the mind in & of itself... focused on
mental qualities in & of themselves – being ardent, alert, one-pointed, with
their minds unified, clear, concentrated, & single-minded, disjoined from
mental qualities.
So even those who are new, not long gone-forth, only recently come to
this doctrine & discipline, should be roused, encouraged, & exhorted by you
to develop the four frames of reference [in this way].
– SN XLVII.4
§ 35. Taking Note. Suppose that there is a foolish, inexperienced,
unskillful cook who has presented a king or a king’s minister with various
kinds of curry: mainly sour, mainly bitter, mainly peppery, mainly sweet,
alkaline or non-alkaline, salty or non-salty. He does not take note of (lit: pick
up on the theme of) his master, thinking, ’Today my master likes this curry,
or he reaches out for that curry, or he takes a lot of this curry, or he praises
that curry’... As a result, he is not rewarded with clothing or wages or gifts.
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 107
Why is that? Because the foolish, inexperienced, unskillful cook does not
pick up on the theme of his own master.
In the same way, there are cases where a foolish, inexperienced, unskillful
monk remains focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful –
putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. As he remains thus
focused on the body in & of itself, his mind does not become concentrated,
his defilements [Comm: the five Hindrances] are not abandoned. He does not
take note of that fact (does not pick up on that theme). He remains focused
on feelings in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in
& of themselves – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress
with reference to the world. As he remains thus focused on mental qualities
in & of themselves, his mind does not become concentrated, his defilements
are not abandoned. He does not take note of that fact. As a result, he is
not rewarded with a pleasant abiding here & now, nor with mindfulness &
alertness. Why is that? Because the foolish, inexperienced, unskillful monk
does not take note of his own mind (does not pick up on the theme of his
own mind).
Now suppose that there is a wise, experienced, skillful cook who has
presented a king or a king’s minister with various kinds of curry... He takes
note of his master, thinking, ’Today my master likes this curry, or he reaches
out for that curry, or he takes a lot of this curry or he praises that curry’... As
a result, he is rewarded with clothing, wages, & gifts. Why is that? Because
the wise, experienced, skillful cook picks up on the theme of his own master.
In the same way, there are cases where a wise, experienced, skillful monk
remains focused on the body in & of itself... feelings in & of themselves...
the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of themselves – ardent, alert,
& mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. As
he remains thus focused on mental qualities in & of themselves, his mind
becomes concentrated, his defilements are abandoned. He takes note of that
fact. As a result, he is rewarded with a pleasant abiding here & now, together
with mindfulness & alertness. Why is that? Because the wise, experienced,
skillful monk picks up on the theme of his own mind.
– SN XLVII.8[134]
§ 36. Directing & Not Directing the Mind. Ananda, if a monk
or nun remains with mind well established in the four frames of reference,
he/she may be expected to realize greater-than-ever distinction.
There is the case of a monk who remains focused on the body in & of itself
108 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
– ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to
the world. As he remains thus focused on the body in & of itself, a fever based
on the body arises within his body, or there is sluggishness in his awareness,
or his mind becomes scattered externally. He should then direct his mind
to any inspiring theme [Comm: such as recollection of the Buddha]. As his
mind is directed to any inspiring theme, delight arises within him. In one
who feels delight, rapture arises. In one whose mind is enraptured, the body
grows serene. His body serene, he feels pleasure. As he feels pleasure, his
mind grows concentrated. He reflects, ’I have attained the aim to which my
mind was directed. Let me withdraw [my mind from the inspiring theme].’
He withdraws & engages neither in directed thought nor in evaluation. He
discerns, ’I am not thinking or evaluating. I am inwardly mindful & at ease.’
Furthermore, he remains focused on feelings... mind... mental qualities
in & of themselves – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress
with reference to the world. As he remains thus focused on mental qualities
in & of themselves, a fever based on mental qualities arises within his body,
or there is sluggishness in his awareness, or his mind becomes scattered exter-
nally. He should then direct his mind to any inspiring theme. As his mind is
directed to any inspiring theme, delight arises within him. In one who feels
delight, rapture arises. In one whose mind is enraptured, the body grows
serene. His body serene, he is sensitive to pleasure. As he feels pleasure,
his mind grows concentrated. He reflects, ’I have attained the aim to which
my mind was directed. Let me withdraw.’ He withdraws & engages neither
in directed thought nor in evaluation. He discerns, ’I am not thinking or
evaluating. I am inwardly mindful & at ease.’
This, Ananda, is development based on directing. And what is devel-
opment based on not directing? A monk, when not directing his mind to
external things, discerns, ’My mind is not directed to external things. It is
not attentive to what is in front or behind. It is released & undirected. And
furthermore I remain focused on the body in & of itself. I am ardent, alert,
mindful, & at ease.’
When not directing his mind to external things, he discerns, ’My mind
is not directed to external things. It is not attentive to what is in front or
behind. It is released & undirected. And furthermore I remain focused on
feelings... mind... mental qualities in & of themselves. I am ardent, alert,
mindful, & at ease.’
This, Ananda, is development based on not directing.
Now, Ananda, I have taught you development based on directing and
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 109
tongue does not pull toward pleasing tastes... the body does not pull toward
pleasing tactile sensations... the intellect does not pull toward pleasing ideas,
and unpleasing ideas are not repellent. This, monks, is restraint.
The strong post or stake is a term for mindfulness immersed in the body.
Thus you should train yourselves: ’We will develop mindfulness immersed
in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give
it a grounding. We will steady it, consolidate it, and set about it properly.’
That’s how you should train yourselves.
– SN XXXV.206[124]
§ 40. Suppose, monks, that a large crowd of people comes thronging
together, saying, ’The beauty queen! The beauty queen!’ And suppose that
the beauty queen is highly accomplished at singing & dancing, so that an
even greater crowd comes thronging, saying, ’The beauty queen is singing!
The beauty queen is dancing!’ Then a man comes along, desiring life &
shrinking from death, desiring pleasure & abhorring pain. They say to him,
’Now look here, mister. You must take this bowl filled to the brim with oil
and carry it on your head in between the great crowd & the beauty queen.
A man with a raised sword will follow right behind you, and wherever you
spill even a drop of oil, right there will he cut off your head.’ Now what do
you think, monks: Will that man, not paying attention to the bowl of oil,
let himself get distracted outside?
No, lord.
I have given you this parable to convey a meaning. The meaning is this:
The bowl filled to the brim with oil stands for mindfulness immersed in
the body. Thus you should train yourselves: ’We will develop mindfulness
immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a
basis, give it a grounding. We will steady it, consolidate it, and set about it
properly.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.
– SN XLVII.20[136]
§ 41.
– Ud III.5[61]
§ 42. Whoever pervades the great ocean with his awareness encompasses
whatever rivulets flow down into the ocean. In the same way, whoever de-
velops & pursues mindfulness immersed in the body encompasses whatever
skillful qualities are on the side of clear knowing.
When one thing is practiced & pursued, the body is calmed, the mind
is calmed, thinking & evaluating are stilled, and all qualities on the side of
clear knowing go to the culmination of their development. Which one thing?
Mindfulness immersed in the body.
When one thing is practiced & pursued, ignorance is abandoned, clear
knowing arises, the conceit ’I am’ is abandoned, obsessions are uprooted,
fetters are abandoned. Which one thing? Mindfulness immersed in the body.
Those who do not taste mindfulness of the body do not taste the Death-
less. Those who taste mindfulness of the body taste the Deathless.
Those who are heedless of mindfulness of the body are heedless of the
Deathless.
Those who comprehend mindfulness of the body comprehend the Death-
less.
– AN I.225, 227, 230, 235, 239, 245
§ 43. The Deathless. There are these four frames of reference. Which
four? There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in &
of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world. As he remains focused on the body in & of itself, he
abandons desire with regard to the body. As he abandons desire with regard
to the body, he realizes the Deathless.
He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves... mind in & of itself...
mental qualities in & of themselves – putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world. As he remains focused on mental qualities in &
of themselves, he abandons desire with regard to mental qualities. As he
abandons desire with regard to mental qualities, he realizes the Deathless.
– SN XLVII.37
§ 44. It is just as if there were a great pile of dust at a four-way inter-
section. If a cart or chariot came from the east, that pile of dust would be
totally leveled. If a cart or chariot came from the west... from the north...
114 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
from the south, that pile of dust would be totally leveled. In the same way,
when a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself, then evil, unskill-
ful qualities are totally leveled. If he remains focused on feelings... mind...
mental qualities in & of themselves, then evil, unskillful qualities are totally
leveled.
– SN LIV.10
§ 45. Now when Ven. Anuruddha was meditating in solitude, this train
of thought appeared in his awareness: ’Whoever neglects the four frames of
reference neglects the noble path going to the right ending of stress. Whoever
undertakes the four frames of reference undertakes the noble path going to
the right ending of stress.’
Then Ven. Maha Moggallana, as soon as he perceived with his awareness
the train of thought in Ven. Anuruddha’s awareness – as a strong man might
extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm – appeared in front of Ven.
Anuruddha and said to him, ’To what extent are the four frames of reference
undertaken?’
Anuruddha: ’There is the case, my friend, of a monk who internally
remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with regard to the body,
remains focused on the phenomenon of passing away with regard to the
body, remains focused on the phenomenon of origination & passing away
with regard to the body – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed &
distress with reference to the world.
’Externally he remains focused on the phenomenon of origination with
regard to the body...
’Internally & externally he remains focused on the phenomenon of orig-
ination with regard to the body, remains focused on the phenomenon of
passing away with regard to the body, remains focused on the phenomenon
of origination & passing away with regard to the body – ardent, alert, &
mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world.
’If he wants, he remains percipient of loathsomeness in the presence of
what is not loathsome. If he wants, he remains percipient of unloathsomeness
in the presence of what is loathsome. If he wants, he remains percipient of
loathsomeness in the presence of what is not loathsome & what is. If he
wants, he remains percipient of unloathsomeness in the presence of what is
loathsome & what is not. If he wants – in the presence of what is loathsome
& what is not – cutting himself off from both, he remains equanimous, alert,
& mindful. [§§98; 181]
5.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 115
bore them mindfully, alert, & unperturbed. The thought occurred to him, ’It
would not be proper for me to enter total Unbinding without addressing my
attendants & without taking leave of the community of monks. Why don’t I,
suppressing this illness with persistence, remain resolved on the fabrication
of life?’ So he suppressed the illness with persistence & remained resolved
on the fabrication of life. His illness abated.
Then he recovered from the illness. Soon after his recovery he came out
of his dwelling & sat down in the shade of the building, on a seat prepared
for him. Then Ven. Ananda approached him and, on arrival, having bowed
down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there he said to the Blessed
One, ’What a happy sight to see the Blessed One in comfort! What a happy
sight to see the Blessed One at ease! Because of the Blessed One’s sickness
my own body felt as if it were drugged. I lost my bearings. Things were
unclear to me. Yet I still took a measure of comfort in the thought that the
Blessed One would not enter total Unbinding as long as he hadn’t given at
least some pronouncement concerning the community of monks.’
’What more does the community of monks want from me, Ananda? I have
taught the Dhamma without an inner or an outer version. The Tathagata
has no closed fist with regard to teachings. Whoever has the thought, ’I will
rule the community of monks,’ or ’The community of monks is dedicated
to me,’ he should give some pronouncement concerning the community of
monks. But the Tathagata has no such thoughts. So why should he give
some pronouncement concerning the community of monks?
’I am old now, Ananda, & aged. My years have turned eighty. Just as
an old cart is kept going with the help of bamboo strips, it seems to me as if
the Tathagata’s body is kept going with the help of bamboo strips. The only
time the Tathagata’s body feels at ease is when, not attending to any theme
at all, and with the cessation of certain feelings, he enters & remains in the
theme-less concentration of awareness. Therefore each of you should remain
with your self as an island, your self as your refuge, without anything else
as a refuge. Remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as your
refuge, without anything else as a refuge. And how does a monk remain with
his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without anything else as a refuge?
How does he remain with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as his
refuge, without anything else as a refuge? There is the case where a monk
remains focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting
aside greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on
feelings... mind... mental qualities in & of themselves – ardent, alert, &
118 Chapter 5. The Four Frames of Reference
mindful – putting aside greed & distress with reference to the world. This is
how a monk remains with his self as an island, his self as his refuge, without
anything else as a refuge, with the Dhamma as an island, the Dhamma as
his refuge, without anything else as a refuge. For those who – now or after I
am gone – remain with their self as an island... the Dhamma as their refuge,
without anything else as a refuge, they will be the highest of the monks who
desire training.’
– DN 16[45]
Chapter 6
The four activities included in this set show how effort can be applied to
developing skillful qualities in the mind. The basic formula runs as follows:
These four aspects of effort are also termed guarding, abandoning, develop-
ing, and maintaining [§50]. All four play a necessary role in bringing the
mind to Awakening, although in some cases they are simply four sides to a
single process. The abandoning of unskillful mental qualities can frequently
be accomplished simply by focusing on the development of skillful ones, such
as mindfulness. The same principle can also act in reverse: in the skillful
eradication of unskillful qualities, the skillfulness of the eradication is in and
of itself the development of mindful discernment. As we will see when we deal
with the seven factors for Awakening [II/G (Section 9)], the act of nourishing
a factor of Awakening can in some cases simultaneously starve a hindrance,
119
120 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
while the conscious starving of a hindrance can foster a factor for Awakening.
Ultimately, though, right exertion requires more than simply abstaining from
what is unskillful, for it must apply the basic factors of skillfulness – mind-
fulness and discernment – to gain an understanding of how even skillfulness
can be transcended [§61].
Perhaps the most important point in developing right exertion is to re-
alize that the effort to abandon unskillful qualities and to develop skillful
qualities must be skillful itself. Unskillful efforts at eradicating unskillful
states, even if well intended, can many times exacerbate problems instead of
solving them. Treating hatred with hatred, for instance, is less effective than
treating it with the kind of understanding developed in the second stage of
frames-of-reference meditation [II/B (Section 4.1)], which sees into causes
and effects, and learns how to manipulate causes properly so as to get the
desired effects. For this reason, the basic formula for right exertion includes,
both implicitly and explicitly, other factors of the path to ensure that the
effort is skillfully applied. Three of the qualities that activate the mind in
these exertions – desire, persistence, and intent – are also members of the
bases of power [II/D (Section 6.1)], where they function as dominant fac-
tors in the attainment of concentration. The ability to discriminate between
skillful and unskillful qualities, implicit in all of these exertions, requires a
certain level of mindfulness and discernment. The skillful qualities that are
mentioned most prominently as worthy of development are the seven factors
for Awakening, which include mindfulness, analysis of mental qualities, and
the factors of jhana, all of which must be reinvested in the process of right
exertion to bring it to higher levels of finesse.
Passage §51 gives an idea of right exertion’s range of application by listing
seven ways in which unskillful qualities can be abandoned: seeing, restrain-
ing, using, tolerating, avoiding, destroying, and developing. The passage is
deliberately vague as to which types of unskillful qualities respond to which
type of treatment, for this is a point that each meditator must discover in
practice for him or herself. This emphasis on personal exploration is crucial
to the practice of right effort, for it encourages one to be sensitive to what
can be discovered with one’s own mindfulness and discernment. The same
point applies to the question of how much effort must be applied to the prac-
tice. The Buddha notes that some meditators will have to undergo painful
and slow practice, while others will find that their practice is painful and
quick, pleasant and slow, or pleasant and quick [§§84-85]. Thus each has to
adjust the effort applied to the practice accordingly. This need for differing
121
levels of effort depends not only on the individual, but also on the situation.
In some cases, simply watching an unskillful quality with equanimity will be
enough to make it go away; in other cases, one has to exert a conscious effort
to get rid of it [§§58-59]. Thus, through observation, one will realize that
skillful effort has no room for doctrinaire approaches. The polar extremes of
constant exertion to the point of exhaustion and its opposite, a knee-jerk fear
of "efforting," are both misguided here, as is the seemingly "middle" way of
moderation in all things. The true middle way means tuning one’s efforts
to one’s abilities and to the task at hand [§86]. In some cases, this entails
an all-out effort; in others, simple watchfulness. The ability to sense what
kind and what level of effort is appropriate in any given situation is an im-
portant element in developing the basic requirements for skill – mindfulness
and discernment – by putting them to use.
We have already noted that right exertion is equivalent to the factor of
ardency in frames-of-reference meditation [II/B (Section 4.1)]. In the first
stage of that practice, right exertion functions by keeping the mind with
its frame of reference and by warding off unskillful mental qualities that
would make it abandon that frame. In the second stage, the function of
exertion becomes more refined: warding off the tendency to get involved with
"what" is arising and passing away, and keeping the mind applied to its task
of manipulating, observing, and mastering the process of origination and
passing away as one steers the mind to the stillness of jhana. In the third
stage, the function of exertion becomes finer yet, as it maintains a basic
"empty" or radically phenomenological awareness of the frame of reference
in order to bring the mind to the state of non-fashioning appropriate for the
process of Awakening. The equipoise of this state – beyond the categories
of effort or non-effort – explains the paradox expressed in §62, which states
that the mind crosses the flood of rebirth by neither "pushing forward" nor
"staying in place," an equipoise that embodies the ultimate skillfulness of
right exertion in bringing the mind to a point beyond skill.
Implicit in this discussion of the effort involved in mastering skill to the
point of its own transcendence is the fact that the goal of the practice is not
an effort to return to a supposedly pure state of childlike awareness prior
to social conditionings. Passage §61 makes this fact explicit. According
to Buddhist analysis, the state of a child’s mind is one, not of purity, but
of ignorance filled with the potential for many unskilled qualities. These
qualities show themselves in seemingly innocent ways simply because the
infant’s intellectual and physical powers are weak. Once those powers are
122 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
And what is the exertion to develop? There is the case where a monk
develops the mindfulness factor for Awakening dependent on seclusion... dis-
passion... cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops the investigation
of qualities factor for Awakening... the persistence factor for Awakening...
the rapture factor for Awakening... the serenity factor for Awakening... the
concentration factor for Awakening... the equanimity factor for Awakening
dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. This
is called the exertion to develop.
And what is the exertion to maintain? There is the case where a monk
maintains a favorable theme of concentration – the skeleton perception, the
worm-eaten perception, the livid perception, the festering perception, the
falling-apart perception, the bloated perception. This is called the exertion
to maintain. [§30]
These are the four exertions.
– AN IV.14
§ 51. The ending of the effluents is for one who knows & sees, I tell you,
not for one who does not know & does not see. For one who knows what &
sees what? Appropriate attention & inappropriate attention. When a monk
attends inappropriately, unarisen effluents arise, and arisen effluents increase.
When a monk attends appropriately, unarisen effluents do not arise, and
arisen effluents are abandoned. There are effluents that are to be abandoned
by seeing, those that are to be abandoned by restraining, those that are to
be abandoned by using, those that are to be abandoned by tolerating, those
that are to be abandoned by avoiding, those that are to be abandoned by
destroying, and those that are to be abandoned by developing.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by seeing? There
is the case where an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person... does not discern
124 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
what ideas are fit for attention, or what ideas are unfit for attention. This
being so, he does not attend to ideas fit for attention, and attends [instead]
to ideas unfit for attention. And what are the ideas unfit for attention that
he attends to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the
unarisen effluent of sensuality arises, and the arisen effluent of sensuality
increases; the unarisen effluent of becoming... the unarisen effluent of igno-
rance arises, and the arisen effluent of ignorance increases... This is how he
attends inappropriately: ’Was I in the past? Was I not in the past? What
was I in the past? How was I in the past? Having been what, what was I
in the past? Shall I be in the future? Shall I not be in the future? What
shall I be in the future? How shall I be in the future? Having been what,
what shall I be in the future?’ Or else he is inwardly perplexed about the
immediate present: ’Am I? Am I not? What am I? How am I? Where has
this being come from? Where is it bound?’
As he attends inappropriately in this way, one of six kinds of view arises
in him: The view I have a self arises in him as true & established, or the
viewI have no self... or the viewIt is precisely by means of self that I perceive
self... or the view It is precisely by means of self that I perceive not-self...
or the view It is precisely by means of not-self that I perceive self arises in
him as true & established, or else he has a view like this: This very self of
mine – the knower that is sensitive here & there to the ripening of good & bad
actions – is the self of mine that is constant, everlasting, eternal, not subject
to change, and will endure as long as eternity. This is called a thicket of
views, a wilderness of views, a contortion of views, a writhing of views, a
fetter of views. Bound by a fetter of views, the uninstructed run-of-the-mill
person is not freed from birth, aging, & death, from sorrow, lamentation,
pain, distress, & despair. He is not freed, I tell you, from stress. [§218]
The well-taught disciple of the noble ones... discerns what ideas are fit
for attention, and what ideas are unfit for attention. This being so, he does
not attend to ideas unfit for attention, and attends [instead] to ideas fit for
attention... And what are the ideas fit for attention that he attends to?
Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen effluent of
sensuality does not arise, and the arisen effluent of sensuality is abandoned;
the unarisen effluent of becoming... the unarisen effluent of ignorance does
not arise, and the arisen effluent of ignorance is abandoned... He attends
appropriately, This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is
the cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of stress.
As he attends appropriately in this way, three fetters are abandoned in him:
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 125
identity-view, doubt, and grasping at precepts & practices. These are called
the effluents that are to be abandoned by seeing.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by restraining?
There is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, dwells restrained
with the restraint of the eye-faculty. The effluents, vexation, or fever that
would arise if he were to dwell unrestrained with the restraint of the eye-
faculty do not arise for him when he dwells restrained with the restraint of the
eye-faculty. (Similarly with the ear, nose, tongue, body, & intellect-faculties.)
These are called the effluents that are to be abandoned by restraining.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by using? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, uses the robe simply to
counteract cold, to counteract heat, to counteract the touch of flies, mos-
quitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles; simply for the purpose of covering the parts
of the body that cause shame.
Reflecting appropriately, he uses almsfood, not playfully, nor for intox-
ication, nor for putting on bulk, nor for beautification; but simply for the
survival & continuance of this body, for ending its afflictions, for the support
of the holy life, thinking, ’Thus will I destroy old feelings [of hunger] and not
create new feelings [from overeating]. I will maintain myself, be blameless,
& live in comfort.’
Reflecting appropriately, he uses lodging simply to counteract cold, to
counteract heat, to counteract the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, &
reptiles; simply for protection from the inclemencies of weather and for the
enjoyment of seclusion.
Reflecting appropriately, he uses medicinal requisites for curing illness
simply to counteract any pains of illness that have arisen and for maximum
freedom from disease.
The effluents, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to use
these things [in this way] do not arise for him when he uses them [in this
way]. These are called the effluents that are to be abandoned by using.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by tolerating? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, endures. He tolerates cold,
heat, hunger, & thirst; the touch of flies, mosquitoes, wind, sun, & reptiles;
ill-spoken, unwelcome words & bodily feelings that, when they arise, are
painful, racking, sharp, piercing, disagreeable, displeasing, & menacing to
life. The effluents, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to
tolerate these things do not arise for him when he tolerates them. These are
called the effluents that are to be abandoned by tolerating.
126 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by avoiding? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, avoids a wild elephant,
a wild horse, a wild bull, a wild dog, a snake, a stump, a bramble patch, a
chasm, a cliff, a cesspool, an open sewer. Reflecting appropriately, he avoids
sitting in the sorts of unsuitable seats, wandering to the sorts of unsuitable
habitats, and associating with the sorts of bad friends that would make
his knowledgeable friends in the holy life suspect him of evil conduct. The
effluents, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to avoid these
things do not arise for him when he avoids them. These are called the
effluents that are to be abandoned by avoiding.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by destroying? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, does not tolerate an arisen
thought of sensuality. He abandons it, destroys it, dispels it, & wipes it out
of existence. (Similarly with thoughts of ill will, thoughts of cruelty, & evil,
unskillful mental qualities.) The effluents, vexation, or fever that would arise
if he were not to destroy these things do not arise for him when he destroys
them. These are called the effluents that are to be abandoned by destroying.
And what are the effluents that are to be abandoned by developing? There
is the case where a monk, reflecting appropriately, develops the mindfulness
as a factor for Awakening dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation,
resulting in letting go. He develops the analysis of qualities as a factor
for Awakening... the persistence as a factor for Awakening... the rapture
as a factor for Awakening... the serenity as a factor for Awakening... the
concentration as a factor for Awakening... the equanimity as a factor for
Awakening dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in
letting go. The effluents, vexation, or fever that would arise if he were not to
develop these qualities do not arise for him when he develops them. These
are called the effluents that are to be abandoned by developing.
When a monk’s effluents that should be abandoned by seeing have been
abandoned by seeing, his effluents that should be abandoned by restraining
have been abandoned by restraining,
his effluents that should be abandoned by using have been abandoned by
using,
his effluents that should be abandoned by tolerating have been abandoned
by tolerating,
his effluents that should be abandoned by avoiding have been abandoned
by avoiding,
his effluents that should be abandoned by destroying have been aban-
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 127
doned by destroying,
his effluents that should be abandoned by developing have been aban-
doned by developing,
then he is called a monk who dwells restrained with the restraint of all
the effluents. He has severed craving, thrown off the fetters, and – through
the right penetration of conceit – has made an end of suffering & stress.
– MN 2[67]
§ 52. These are the five factors for exertion. Which five?
[a] There is the case where a monk has conviction, is convinced of the
Tathagata’s Awakening: ’Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-
awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with
regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed,
the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened, blessed.’ [§§71-72]
[b] The monk is free from illness & discomfort, endowed with good diges-
tion – not too cold, not too hot, of moderate strength – fit for exertion.
[c] He is neither fraudulent nor deceitful. He declares himself to the
Teacher or to his wise friends in the holy life in line with what he actually is.
[d] He keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful mental
qualities and taking on skillful mental qualities. He is steadfast, solid in his
effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental qualities.
[e] He is discerning, endowed with discernment leading to the arising of
the goal – noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress.
These are the five factors for exertion.
– AN V.53[20]
§ 53. With regard to internal factors, I do not envision any other single
factor so helpful as appropriate attention for a monk who is a learner, who
has not attained the heart’s goal but remains intent on the unexcelled se-
curity from bondage. A monk who attends appropriately abandons what is
unskillful and develops what is skillful. [§96]
The quality of appropriate attention
in a learning monk:
Nothing else is so helpful
for attaining the supreme goal.
A monk, striving appropriately,
reaches the ending of stress.
– Iti 16[55, 16]
128 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
§ 54. With regard to external factors, I do not envision any other single
factor like friendship with admirable people in being so helpful for a monk
who is a learner, who has not attained the heart’s goal but remains intent on
the unexcelled security from bondage. A monk who is a friend with admirable
people abandons what is unskillful and develops what is skillful. [§§115; 125]
A monk who is a friend
to admirable people,
– one reverential, respectful,
doing what his friends advise –
alert, mindful,
attains step by step
the ending of all fetters.
– Iti 17[55, 17]
§ 55. A person without ardor, without concern, is incapable of self-
awakening, incapable of Unbinding, incapable of attaining the unexcelled
security from bondage. A person ardent & concerned is capable of self-
awakening, capable of Unbinding, capable of attaining the unexcelled security
from bondage.
Without ardor, without concern,
lazy, with weak persistence,
full of sloth & drowsiness,
shameless, without respect:
This sort of monk is incapable
of touching the supreme self-awakening.
But whoever is mindful & wise,
absorbed in jhana,
ardent, concerned, & heedful,
cutting the fetter of birth & aging,
touches right here & now
the unexcelled self-awakening.
– Iti 34[56, 34]
§ 56. Sariputta: It is said, friend, that a person without ardor, without
concern, is incapable of self-awakening, incapable of Unbinding, incapable of
attaining the unexcelled security from bondage. Now, how is a person with-
out ardor, without concern, incapable of self-awakening, incapable of Un-
binding, incapable of attaining the unexcelled security from bondage? And
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 129
one [the first] is reckoned to be inferior, and the other superior... and why,
of the two individuals who are unblemished, one [the first] is reckoned to be
inferior, and the other superior.
Maha Moggallana: Now this word, ’blemish, blemish.’ What is the mean-
ing of blemish?
Sariputta: Consorting with evil, unskillful wishes – this is the meaning
of ’blemish.’
– MN 5
§ 58. Even if a monk is not skilled in the ways of the minds of others
(not skilled in reading the minds of others), he should train himself: ’I will
be skilled in reading my own mind.’
And how is a monk skilled in reading his own mind? Imagine a young
woman – or man – fond of adornment, examining the image of her own face
in a bright, clean mirror or bowl of clear water: If she saw any dirt or blemish
there, she would try to remove it. If she saw no dirt or blemish there, she
would be pleased, her resolves fulfilled: ’How fortunate I am! How clean
I am!’ In the same way, a monk’s self-examination is very productive in
terms of skillful qualities [if he conducts it in this way]: Do I usually remain
covetous or not? With thoughts of ill will or not? Overcome by sloth &
drowsiness or not? Restless or not? Uncertain or gone beyond uncertainty?
Angry or not? With soiled thoughts or unsoiled thoughts? With my body
aroused or unaroused? Lazy or with persistence aroused? Unconcentrated
or concentrated?’
If, on examination, a monk knows, ’I usually remain covetous, with
thoughts of ill will, overcome by sloth & drowsiness, restless, uncertain, an-
gry, with soiled thoughts, with my body aroused, lazy, or unconcentrated,’
then he should put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, undivided
mindfulness, & alertness for the abandoning of those very same evil, unskill-
ful qualities, just as when a person whose turban or head was on fire would
put forth extra desire, effort, diligence, endeavor, undivided mindfulness, &
alertness to put out the fire on his turban or head...
But if, on examination, a monk knows, ’I usually remain uncovetous,
without thoughts of ill will... & concentrated,’ then his duty is to make an
effort in establishing (’tuning’) those very same skillful qualities to a higher
degree for the ending of the effluents.
– AN X.51[36]
§ 59. "And how is striving fruitful, how is exertion fruitful? There is the
132 Chapter 6. The Four Right Exertions
case where a monk, when not loaded down, does not load himself down with
pain, nor does he reject pleasure that accords with the Dhamma, although
he is not infatuated with that pleasure. He discerns that ’When I exert a
[mental] fabrication against this cause of stress, then from the fabrication of
exertion there is dispassion (fading away). When I look on with equanimity
at that cause of stress, then from the development of equanimity there is
dispassion.’ So he exerts a mental fabrication against the [first] cause of
stress... and develops equanimity with regard to the [second] cause of stress...
Thus the stress [coming from any cause of the first sort] is abolished... & the
stress [coming from any cause of the second sort] is abolished.
"Suppose that a man is in love with a woman, his mind ensnared with
intense desire & passion. He sees her standing with another man, chatting,
joking, & laughing. What do you think, monks: Would he... feel sorrow,
lamentation, pain, distress, & despair?"
"Yes, lord..."
"Now suppose the thought were to occur to him, ’I am in love with this
woman... When I see her standing with another man, chatting, joking, &
laughing, I feel sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. Why don’t I
abandon my desire & passion for that woman?’ So he abandons his desire &
passion for that woman, and afterwards sees her standing with another man,
chatting, joking, & laughing. What do you think, monks: Would he... feel
sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair?"
"No, lord..."
"In the same way, the monk, when not loaded down, does not load himself
down with pain, nor does he reject pleasure that accords with the Dhamma,
although he is not infatuated with that pleasure... He exerts a mental fab-
rication against the [first] cause of stress... and develops equanimity with
regard to the [second] cause of stress... Thus the stress [coming from any
cause of the first sort] is abolished... & the stress [coming from any cause of
the second sort] is abolished.
"Furthermore, the monk notices this: ’When I live according to my plea-
sure, unskillful mental qualities increase in me & skillful qualities decline.
When I exert myself with stress & pain, though, unskillful qualities decline
in me & skillful qualities increase. Why don’t I exert myself with stress &
pain?’ So he exerts himself with stress & pain, and while he is exerting him-
self with stress & pain, unskillful qualities decline in him, & skillful qualities
increase. Then at a later time he would no longer exert himself with stress
& pain. Why is that? Because he has attained the goal for which he was
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 133
Again, there is the case where a certain person, realizing that acquisitions
are the root of suffering & stress, is without acquisitions, released in the end-
ing of acquisitions. I tell you, Udayin, that this sort of person is dissociated,
not associated. Why is that? Because I have known the diversity of faculties
with regard to this type of person.
– MN 66[78]
§ 61. Pañcakanga the carpenter went to where Uggahamana, a follower
of Mundika the contemplative (or: the shaven contemplative – a Jain?), was
staying and on arrival, after exchanging pleasantries, sat to one side. As he
was sitting there, Uggahamana said to him, ’I describe an individual endowed
with four qualities as being consummate in what is skillful, foremost in what
is skillful, an invincible contemplative attained to the highest attainments.
Which four? There is the case where he does no evil action with his body,
speaks no evil speech, resolves on no evil resolve, and maintains himself
with no evil means of livelihood. An individual endowed with these four
qualities I designate as being consummate in what is skillful... an invincible
contemplative attained to the highest attainments.’
Then Pañcakanga the carpenter neither delighted in Uggahamana’s words
nor did he scorn them. Expressing neither delight nor scorn, he got up from
his seat & left, thinking, ’I will learn the meaning of this statement in the
presence of the Blessed One.’
Then the carpenter went to where the Blessed One was staying and on
arrival, after bowing down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he
told the Blessed One the entire conversation he had had with Uggahamana.
When this was said, the Blessed One addressed Pañcakanga, saying, ’In
that case, then according to Uggahamana’s words a stupid baby boy, lying
on its back, is consummate in what is skillful, foremost in what is skillful,
an invincible contemplative attained to the highest attainments. For even
the thought "body" does not occur to a stupid baby boy lying on its back,
so from where would it do any evil action with its body, aside from a little
kicking? Even the thought "speech" does not occur to it, so from where
would it speak any evil speech, aside from a little crying? Even the thought
"resolve" does not occur to it, so from where would it resolve on any evil
resolve, aside from a little bad temper? Even the thought "livelihood" does
not occur to it, so from where would it maintain itself with any evil means
of livelihood, aside from its mother’s milk? So according to Uggahamana’s
words a stupid baby boy, lying on its back, is... an invincible contemplative
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 135
skillful qualities that have not yet arisen...(and) for the maintenance, non-
confusion, increase, plenitude, development & culmination of skillful qualities
that have arisen. This sort of practice is the practice leading to the cessation
of unskillful habits.
’And what are skillful habits? Skillful bodily actions, skillful verbal ac-
tions, purity of livelihood... What is the cause of skillful habits?... The
mind... Which mind? – for the mind has many modes & permutations... Any
mind without passion, without aversion, without delusion: That is the cause
of skillful habits. Now where do skillful habits cease without remainder?...
There is the case where a monk is virtuous, but is not entirely defined by his
virtue. He discerns, as it actually is, the awareness-release & discernment-
release where his skillful habits cease without remainder. And what sort of
practice is the practice leading to the cessation of skillful habits? There is the
case where a monk generates desire... for the sake of the non-arising of evil,
unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen... for the sake of the abandoning
of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen... for the sake of the arising of
skillful qualities that have not yet arisen... (and) for the... development &
culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen. This sort of practice is the
practice leading to the cessation of skillful habits.
’And what are unskillful resolves? Being resolved on sensuality, on ill will,
on harmfulness... What is the cause of unskillful resolves?... Perception...
Which perception? – for perception has many modes & permutations... Any
sensuality-perception, ill will-perception or harmfulness-perception: That is
the cause of unskillful resolves. Now where do unskillful resolves cease with-
out remainder?... There is the case where a monk, quite withdrawn from
sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, enters & remains in
the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by
directed thought & evaluation. This is where unskillful resolves cease without
remainder. And what sort of practice is the practice leading to the cessation
of unskillful resolves? There is the case where a monk generates desire...
for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet
arisen... for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have
arisen... for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet
arisen...(and) for the... development & culmination of skillful qualities that
have arisen. This sort of practice is the practice leading to the cessation of
unskillful resolves.
’And what are skillful resolves? Being resolved on renunciation (freedom
from sensuality), on non-ill will, on harmlessness... What is the cause of
6.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 137
– SN I.1[100]
Chapter 7
Iddhi, the Pali word translated here as "power," has so many meanings that
no one English equivalent can do them all justice. Other equivalents that have
been suggested include success, accomplishment, and prowess. In the context
of the bases for power, however, the word specifically means the supranor-
mal powers that can be developed through concentration, such as levitation,
walking on water, clairaudience, clairvoyance, remembrance of past lives, the
ability to read the minds of others, and the ending of mental effluents. In
the Buddhist analysis, only the last of these powers is transcendent. It is
the only one absolutely necessary on the path to Awakening. The others are
optional and not always desirable, for an unawakened person might find that
the attainment of any one of them can cause supranormal greed, aversion, or
delusion to arise in the mind. The texts record cases where even Arahants,
not fully sensitive to the effect that their actions might have on others, display
their powers in inappropriate contexts. This was why the Buddha forbade
his monastic disciples from displaying their powers before the laity. None of
the displayable powers, he said, is any match for the wonder of a teaching
that, like his, gave the promised results when put into practice [DN 11[43]].
Still, there is no denying that some people acquire these powers in the
course of their meditation, and they need guidance in how to use them prop-
erly so that their powers can actually help, rather than hinder, their practice.
This is the role that the standard formulae for the bases of power play in the
teaching. They show how the mastery of any of the first five powers can be
fit into the outline of frame-of-reference meditation [II/B (Section 4.1)] so
that the process of mastery can lead to the sixth and most important power,
the ending of the effluents, thus resulting in release.
139
140 Chapter 7. The Four Bases of Power
The texts explain the bases of power in two standard formulae: brief and
extended. The brief formula runs as follows:
There is the case where a monk develops the base of power
endowed with concentration founded on desire & the fabrications
of exertion. He develops the base of power endowed with con-
centration founded on persistence... concentration founded on
intent... concentration founded on discrimination & the fabrica-
tions of exertion.
One of the texts [§64] states that these formulae define the process whereby
the bases of power are developed; another [§63] states that they define the
bases of power themselves. The contradiction here can be resolved by noting
that the first text defines the bases of power as "whatever practice leads to
the attainment of power, the winning of power." Because these processes
definitely lead to the attainment of power, they would count as at least part
of the bases of power. The first text is probably alluding to the fact that there
is more to the process, which is included in the extended formula, discussed
below.
Each of these four bases has three component parts: the "fabrications of
exertion" (which the texts equate with the four right exertions), concentra-
tion, and the mental quality – desire, persistence, intent, or discrimination –
on which the concentration is based. According to §172, desire, persistence,
and intent are present in all states of jhana. Thus the phrase "concentration
based on desire" refers to a concentration in which all three qualities are
present, but with desire dominant. We should note here that desire in this
case means desire directed toward the goal of the practice. This desire does
not count as craving, which as a cause of stress is directed at further states
of becoming in the round of rebirth. Although the desire for Awakening,
when it is not yet realized, can be a cause for frustration, that frustration
is counted as a skillful emotion, as it leads to further efforts along the path
[§179]. It is to be transcended, not by abandoning the desire, but by acting
on it properly, as explained below, until gaining the desired results.
Discrimination, the fourth mental quality, is not always inherent in jhana,
although when functioning as evaluation it plays a role in the first jhana, and
is definitely present in the fifth factor of noble right concentration [§150],
which leads to Awakening. Furthermore, the extended formula for the bases
of power shows that discrimination is necessary for the thorough mastery of
concentration based on desire, persistence, intent, or discrimination itself so
141
at the path’s end. The image of the path is important here, for it carries
important implications. First, the path is not the goal; it is simply the way
there, just as the road to the Grand Canyon should not be confused with
the Grand Canyon itself. Even though many stretches of the road bear no
resemblance to the Grand Canyon, that does not mean that the road does
not lead there. Secondly, the path of practice does not cause the goal, it sim-
ply leads there, just as neither the road to the Grand Canyon nor the act of
walking to the Grand Canyon can cause the Grand Canyon to be. The goal
at the end of the Buddhist path is unfabricated, and therefore no amount of
desire or effort can bring it into being. Nevertheless, the path to the goal
is a fabricated process [§105], and in that process desire, effort, intent, and
discrimination all have an important role to play, just as the effort of walking
plays a role in arriving at the Grand Canyon.
The final section of the extended formula hints at how these qualities may
be directed toward Awakening.
This passage refers to the total mastery of concentration. As one frees the
mind from such distinctions as front/behind, above/below, and day/night,
one creates an awareness that is open and bright, unhampered by the nor-
mal limitations that come with a conscious sense of being located in time
and space. This is the type of awareness needed for the attainment of the
supranormal powers. Many meditators tend to stop here, satisfied with their
new-found powers, but the Buddha urges them to go further. As §161 shows,
the full perfection of this type of awareness requires that one be extremely
sensitive to the presence of mental defilements that might place subtle lim-
itations on it. This process of sensitivity is nothing other than the second
stage of frames-of-reference meditation [II/B (Section 4.1)], in which one fo-
cuses on the phenomenon of origination and passing away of mind states
that are limited and unlimited, concentrated and unconcentrated, taking the
brightness of one’s awareness – the mind in-and-of itself – as one’s frame of
reference.
7.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 143
– SN LI.2
§ 64. Ananda: What, lord, is power? What is the base of power? What
is the development of the base of power? And what is the path of practice
leading to the development of the base of power?
The Buddha: There is the case, Ananda, where a monk [1] wields manifold
supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many
he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through
walls, ramparts, & mountains as if through space. He dives in & out of the
earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry
land. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his
hand he touches & strokes even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful. He
exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. {Just as
a skilled potter or his assistant could craft from well-prepared clay whatever
kind of pottery vessel he likes, or as a skilled ivory-carver or his assistant
could craft from well-prepared ivory any kind of ivory-work he likes, or as
a skilled goldsmith or his assistant could craft from well-prepared gold any
kind of gold article he likes; in the same way, the monk wields manifold
supranormal powers...}
[2] He hears – by means of the divine ear-element, purified & surpassing
the human – both kinds of sounds: divine & human, whether near or far.
{Just as if a man traveling along a highway were to hear the sounds of
kettledrums, small drums, conchs, cymbals, & tom-toms. He would know,
’That is the sound of kettledrums, that is the sound of small drums, that
is the sound of conchs, that is the sound of cymbals, & that is the sound
of tom-toms.’ In the same way... the monk hears... both kinds of sounds:
divine & human...}
[3] He knows the awareness of other beings, other individuals, having
encompassed it with his own awareness. He discerns a mind with passion
as a mind with passion, and a mind without passion as a mind without
passion. He discerns a mind with aversion as a mind with aversion, and
a mind without aversion as a mind without aversion. He discerns a mind
with delusion as a mind with delusion, and a mind without delusion as a
mind without delusion. He discerns a restricted mind as a restricted mind,
and a scattered mind as a scattered mind. He discerns an enlarged mind
as an enlarged mind, and an unenlarged mind as an unenlarged mind. He
discerns an excelled mind [one that is not on the most excellent level] as an
excelled mind, and an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind. He discerns
7.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 145
And what is the path of practice leading to the development of the base
of power? Just this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
concentration. This is called the path of practice leading to the development
of the base of power.
– SN LI.26 {+ DN 2[42]}
§ 65. If a monk attains concentration, attains singleness of mind founded
on desire, that is called concentration founded on desire. He generates de-
sire, endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake
of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen... for
the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen... for
the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen...(and) for
the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmi-
nation of skillful qualities that have arisen. These are called the fabrications
of exertion. This is desire, this is concentration founded on desire, these are
the fabrications of exertion. This is called the base of power endowed with
concentration founded on desire & the fabrications of exertion.
If a monk attains concentration, attains singleness of mind founded on
persistence, that is called concentration founded on persistence...
If a monk attains concentration, attains singleness of mind founded on
intent, that is called concentration founded on intent...
If a monk attains concentration, attains singleness of mind founded on
discrimination, that is called concentration founded on discrimination. He
generates desire, endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & exerts his intent
for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet
arisen... for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have
arisen... for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet
arisen...(and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, de-
velopment & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen. These are
called the fabrications of exertion. This is discrimination, this is concentra-
tion founded on discrimination, these are the fabrications of exertion. This
is called the base of power endowed with concentration founded on discrim-
ination & the fabrications of exertion.
– SN LI.13
§ 66. Analysis. These four bases of power, when developed & pursued,
are of great fruit & great benefit. And how are the four bases of power
developed & pursued so as to be of great fruit & great benefit?
148 Chapter 7. The Four Bases of Power
There is the case where a monk develops the base of power endowed with
concentration founded on desire & the fabrications of exertion, thinking,
’This desire of mine will be neither overly sluggish nor overly active, neither
inwardly restricted nor outwardly scattered.’ He keeps perceiving what is
in front & behind so that what is in front is the same as what is behind,
what is behind is the same as what is in front. What is below is the same
as what is above, what is above is the same as what is below. Night is the
same as day, day is the same as night. By means of an awareness thus open
& unhampered, he develops a brightened mind.
He develops the base of power endowed with concentration founded on
persistence... concentration founded on intent... concentration founded on
discrimination & the fabrications of exertion, thinking, ’This discrimination
of mine will be neither overly sluggish nor overly active, neither inwardly
restricted nor outwardly scattered.’ He keeps perceiving what is in front &
behind so that what is in front is the same as what is behind, what is behind
is the same as what is in front. What is below is the same as what is above,
what is above is the same as what is below. [He dwells] by night as by day,
and by day as by night. By means of an awareness thus open & unhampered,
he develops a brightened mind.
And how is desire overly sluggish? Whatever desire is accompanied by
laziness, conjoined with laziness, that is called overly sluggish desire.
And how is desire overly active? Whatever desire is accompanied by
restlessness, conjoined with restlessness, that is called overly active desire.
And how is desire inwardly restricted? Whatever desire is accompanied
by sloth & drowsiness, conjoined with sloth & drowsiness, that is called
inwardly restricted desire.
And how is desire outwardly scattered? Whatever desire is stirred up by
the five strings of sensuality, outwardly dispersed & dissipated, that is called
outwardly scattered desire.
And how does a monk dwell perceiving what is in front & behind so that
what is in front is the same as what is behind, and what is behind is the same
as what is in front? There is the case where a monk’s perception of what is in
front & behind is well in hand, well-attended to, well-considered, well-tuned
(’penetrated’) by means of discernment. This is how a monk keeps perceiving
what is in front and behind so that what is in front is the same as what is
behind, and what is behind is the same as what is in front.
And how does a monk dwell so that what is below is the same as what
is above, and what is above is the same as what is below? There is the case
7.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 149
where a monk reflects on this very body, from the soles of the feet on up, from
the crown of the head on down, surrounded by skin, & full of various kinds of
unclean things: ’In this body there are head hairs, body hairs, nails, teeth,
skin, flesh, tendons, bones, bone marrow, kidneys, heart, liver, pleura, spleen,
lungs, large intestines, small intestines, gorge, feces, bile, phlegm, pus, blood,
sweat, fat, tears, skin-oil, saliva, mucus, fluid in the joints, urine.’ This is
how a monk dwells so that what is below is the same as what is above, and
what is above is the same as what is below. [§30]
And how does a monk dwell by night as by day, and by day as by night?
There is the case where a monk at night develops the base of power endowed
with concentration founded on desire & the fabrications of exertion by means
of the same modes (permutations) & signs & themes that he uses by day, and
by day he develops the base of power endowed with concentration founded
on desire & the fabrications of exertion by means of the same modes & signs
& themes that he uses by night. This is how a monk dwells by night as by
day, and by day as by night.
And how does a monk – by means of an awareness open & unhampered
– develop a brightened mind? There is the case where a monk has the
perception of light, the perception of daytime [at any hour of the day] well
in hand & well-established. This is how a monk – by means of an awareness
open & unhampered – develops a brightened mind. [§147]
(The above discussion is then repeated for persistence, intent, & discrim-
ination.)
When a monk has thus developed & pursued the four bases of power,
he experiences manifold supranormal powers... He hears – by means of the
divine ear-element, purified & surpassing the human – both kinds of sounds:
divine & human, whether near or far... He knows the awareness of other
beings, other individuals, having encompassed it with his own awareness...
He recollects his manifold past lives... He sees – by means of the divine eye,
purified & surpassing the human – beings passing away and re-appearing...
Through the ending of the mental effluents – remains in the effluent-free
awareness-release & discernment-release, having known & made them mani-
fest for himself right in the present.
This is how these four bases of power, when developed & pursued, are of
great fruit & great benefit.
– SN LI.20[141]
§ 67. I have heard that on one occasion Ven. Ananda was staying in
150 Chapter 7. The Four Bases of Power
goal, totally destroyed the fetter of becoming, and who is released through
right gnosis. Whatever desire he first had for the attainment of Arahantship,
on attaining Arahantship that particular desire is allayed. Whatever per-
sistence he first had for the attainment of Arahantship, on attaining Ara-
hantship that particular persistence is allayed. Whatever intent he first had
for the attainment of Arahantship, on attaining Arahantship that particular
intent is allayed. Whatever discrimination he first had for the attainment
of Arahantship, on attaining Arahantship that particular discrimination is
allayed. So what do you think, Brahman? Is this an endless path, or one
with an end?
Unnabha: You’re right, sir. This is a path with an end, and not an endless
one...
– SN LI.15[140]
§ 68. Ananda: Lord, does the Blessed One have direct experience of
going to the Brahma world by means of supranormal power with a mind-
made body?
The Buddha: Yes, Ananda...
Ananda: But does the Blessed One also have direct experience of going
to the Brahma world by means of supranormal power with this very physical
body, composed of the four great elements?
The Buddha: Yes...
Ananda: It’s awesome & marvelous that the Blessed One should have
direct experience of going to the Brahma world by means of supranormal
power with a mind-made body, and of going to the Brahma world by means
of supranormal power with this very physical body, composed of the four
great elements.
The Buddha: Tathagatas are both awesome, Ananda, and endowed with
awesome qualities. They are both marvelous and endowed with marvelous
qualities. Whenever the Tathagata merges his body with his mind and his
mind with his body, and remains having alighted on the perception of ease
and buoyancy with regard to the body, then his body becomes lighter, more
pliant, more malleable, & more radiant.
Just as when an iron ball heated all day becomes lighter, more pliant,
more malleable, & more radiant; in the same way, whenever the Tathagata
merges his body with his mind and his mind with his body, and remains
having alighted on the perception of ease and buoyancy with regard to the
body, then his body becomes lighter, more pliant, more malleable, & more
152 Chapter 7. The Four Bases of Power
radiant.
Now, whenever the Tathagata merges his body with his mind and his
mind with his body, and remains having alighted on the perception of ease
and buoyancy with regard to the body, then his body rises effortlessly from
the earth up into the sky. He then experiences manifold supranormal powers.
Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one.
He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, &
mountains as if through space. He dives in & out of the earth as if it were
water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting
crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he
touches & strokes even the sun & moon, so mighty & powerful. He exercises
influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds.
Just as a tuft of cotton seed or a ball of thistle down, lightly wafted by
the wind, rises effortlessly from the earth up into the sky, in the same way,
whenever the Tathagata concentrates his body in his mind & his mind in
his body, and remains having alighted on the perception of ease and buoy-
ancy, then his body rises effortlessly from the earth up into the sky. He
then experiences manifold supranormal powers... even as far as the Brahma
worlds.
– SN LI.22
Chapter 8
Indriya – the Pali word translated here as "faculty" – is connected with the
name of the dominant Vedic god, Indra. Thus it carries connotations of
dominance or control. Buddhist texts contain several lists of faculties, both
physical and mental, but here the word denotes a list of five mental factors
that must reach a state of dominance in the mind for Awakening to take
place. This set is one of the most comprehensive in the Wings to Awakening,
as it covers all of the factors explicitly mentioned in the sets we have covered
so far, and in addition lists conviction, which the other sets imply but never
specifically mention. This is why this set forms the framework for Part III
(Section III) of this book, in which all of the main factors of the Wings to
Awakening will be discussed in detail.
As we noted in II/A (Section II), the faculties in this set form a loop
in the causal progression of the mind along the path, as opposed to the
"holographic" formulae of the sets we have discussed so far. Two of the
faculties – the frames of reference and right exertion – we have covered in
detail already. The other three – conviction, concentration, and discernment
– we will discuss in detail in Part III (Section III). Here we will limit ourselves
to some general observations about the set as a whole.
In the causal loop depicted by five faculties, the emphasis is on how the
elements of the "concentration aggregate" in the noble eightfold path – right
effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration – can lead the mind from a
state of conviction to one of discernment. To borrow terminology from §106,
this is the process by which the mind goes from the preliminary level to the
noble or transcendent level of right view. This set can also be regarded as a
description of how conviction, when put into action, inherently leads through
153
154 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
tion, which develops mindfulness as the most essential skillful quality in the
mind. As we saw under the frames of reference, the proper development of
mindfulness leads to concentration, or the four jhanas, while the jhanas pro-
vide the foundation for the arising of discernment, the fifth and final member
of this set. When discernment is strengthened to the point of transcendence,
leading to the attainment of stream-entry, it then confirms the truths that
were previously taken as a matter of conviction and faith [§74]. This con-
firmation feeds back into the causal loop, strengthening conviction, which
provides the basis for developing the faculties still further until Arahantship
is attained. At that point there is no need to be convinced that the prac-
tice leads to release into the Deathless, for one has fully realized that release
through direct experience [§89].
The underlying element throughout the development of this causal loop
is the mental quality of heedfulness [§78]. The texts explain heedfulness as
a combination of right effort and relentless mindfulness, but as a quality of
mind it goes deeper than that. Heedfulness realizes the dangers inherent in
the round of rebirth and redeath, and the fact that those dangers are inherent
in each careless act of the mind. It thus fosters conviction in the possibility
of a release from those dangers and a sense of urgency and precision in the
practice. This combination of urgency and precision provides the impetus for
the full and thorough development of the faculties as one seriously pursues
the possibility of release through the skillful development of the mind. This
pattern of heedfulness developing the five faculties in the quest of the security
of Deathlessness mirrors Prince Siddhattha’s own quest, which began with his
conviction that there was no need to resign himself to the tyranny of aging,
illness, and death, and ended with the discernment that brought about his
actual escape from that tyranny. This pattern also calls to mind the famous
verse from the Dhammapada, that heedfulness is the path to the Deathless
[§80]. The five faculties can be taken as an elaboration of that verse.
Because the five faculties are means to Deathlessness – rather than ends
in themselves – they must not only be developed skillfully but also used
skillfully as they are developed. The texts emphasizing this point focus on
two of the faculties: persistence and discernment.
The passage dealing with persistence [§86] is probably the Canon’s most
explicit analogy between the performance of music and the practice of med-
itation [I/A (Section I)]. One should tune one’s effort so that it is neither
too intense nor too slack, just as the main string of a musical instrument
should be neither too sharp nor too flat. (We have already encountered this
156 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
issue of balance in the proper development of the four bases of power, and
we will encounter it again in the factors for Awakening.) One then tunes
the remaining faculties to the pitch of one’s effort, just as one would tune
the notes of one’s scale to the tonic. Only then can one take up the theme
of one’s meditation – the four frames of reference [§148] – just as one would
take up and develop the basic theme of one’s musical piece.
As for discernment, passage §88 brings out the point that one’s mastery of
the faculties is not complete until one discerns the "escape" from them. Nor-
mally the texts make this comment only about deceptively attractive objects
or unskillful qualities in the mind, but here they use it in connection with
skillful qualities. What this means is that there comes a point in the prac-
tice where one must go beyond even such skillful qualities as concentration
and discernment. They are skillful precisely because their full development
allows one to go beyond them. This point is made explicit in §187, which
shows exactly why the right view constituting discernment is right: it is the
only view that opens the way going beyond attachment to views. DN 1
[MFU, p. 111[149, p111]] adds that an awakened person – through regarding
views not in terms of their content, but in terms of the effect they have on
the mind – comes to discern what lies beyond views, and yet does not hold
even to that act of discernment. As a result of knowing but not holding,
the mind experiences Unbinding in the here and now. This "knowing but
not holding" is yet another reference to the perceptual mode of emptiness
verging on non-fashioning: the culminating point for each set in the Wings
to Awakening.
And what is the faculty of persistence? There is the case where a monk,
a disciple of the noble ones, keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning un-
skillful mental qualities and taking on skillful mental qualities. He is stead-
fast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental
qualities. He generates desire, endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & ex-
erts his intent for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that
have not yet arisen... for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qual-
ities that have arisen... for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that
have not yet arisen... (and) for the maintenance, non-confusion, increase,
plenitude, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen.
This is called the faculty of persistence. [§§49-50]
And what is the faculty of mindfulness? There is the case where a monk,
a disciple of the noble ones, is mindful, highly meticulous, remembering &
able to call to mind even things that were done & said long ago. He remains
focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside
greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings
in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of
themselves – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world. This is called the faculty of mindfulness. [§§29-30]
And what is the faculty of concentration? There is the case where a
monk, a disciple of the noble ones, making it his object to let go, attains
concentration, attains singleness of mind. Quite withdrawn from sensuality,
withdrawn from unskillful mental qualities, he enters & remains in the first
jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed
thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he
enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure,
unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation – internal
assurance. With the fading of rapture he remains in equanimity, mindful &
alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters & remains in the third
jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ’Equanimous & mindful, he has a
pleasurable abiding.’ With the abandoning of pleasure & pain – as with the
earlier disappearance of elation & distress – he enters & remains in the fourth
jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain. This
is called the faculty of concentration. [§150]
And what is the faculty of discernment? There is the case where a monk, a
disciple of the noble ones, is discerning, endowed with discernment of arising
& passing away – noble, penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress.
He discerns, as it is actually present: ’This is stress... This is the origination
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 159
cerning, endowed with discernment leading to the arising of the goal – noble,
penetrating, leading to the right ending of stress. With discernment as his
covering of plaster, the disciple of the noble ones abandons what is unskillful
& develops what is skillful, abandons what is blameworthy & develops what
is unblameworthy, and looks after himself with purity...
Just as a royal frontier fortress has large stores of grass, timber & water
for the delight, convenience, & comfort of those within, and to ward off those
without; in the same way the disciple of the noble ones... enters & remains
in the first jhana... for his own delight, convenience, & comfort, and to alight
on Unbinding...
Just as a royal frontier fortress has large stores of rice & barley for the
delight, convenience, & comfort of those within, and to ward off those with-
out; in the same way the disciple of the noble ones... enters & remains in the
second jhana... for his own delight, convenience, & comfort, and to alight on
Unbinding...
Just as a royal frontier fortress has large stores of sesame, green gram,
& other beans for the delight, convenience, & comfort of those within, and
to ward off those without; in the same way the disciple of the noble ones...
enters & remains in the third jhana... for his own delight, convenience, &
comfort, and to alight on Unbinding...
Just as a royal frontier fortress has large stores of tonics – ghee, fresh
butter, oil, honey, molasses, & salt – for the delight, convenience, & comfort
of those within, and to ward off those without; in the same way the disciple of
the noble ones... enters & remains in the fourth jhana... for his own delight,
convenience, & comfort, and to alight on Unbinding...
– AN VII.63
§ 74. The Buddha: Tell me, Sariputta: A disciple of the noble ones
who is thoroughly inspired by the Tathagata, who has gone solely to the
Tathagata [for refuge], could he have any doubt or uncertainty concerning
the Tathagata or the Tathagata’s teachings?
Sariputta: No, lord... With a disciple of the noble ones who has con-
viction, it may be expected that he will keep his persistence aroused for
abandoning unskillful mental qualities and taking on skillful mental quali-
ties, that he will be steadfast, solid in his effort, not shirking his duties with
regard to skillful mental qualities. Whatever persistence he has, is his faculty
of persistence.
With a disciple of the noble ones who has conviction, who is resolute &
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 161
Through which two? Through noble discernment & noble release. Whatever
is his noble discernment is his faculty of discernment. Whatever is his noble
release is his faculty of concentration.
– SN XLVIII.46
§ 77. Just as, of all scented woods, red sandalwood is reckoned the chief,
even so of all the mental qualities that are wings to self-awakening, the faculty
of discernment is reckoned the chief in terms of leading to Awakening. And
what are the mental qualities that are wings to self-awakening? The faculty
of conviction is a mental quality that is a wing to self-awakening leading
to Awakening. The faculty of persistence... mindfulness... concentration...
discernment is a mental quality that is a wing to self-awakening leading to
Awakening.
– SN XLVIII.55
§ 78. When one quality is established in a monk, the five faculties are
developed & developed well. Which one quality? Heedfulness.
And what is heedfulness? There is the case where a monk guards his
mind in the midst of mental effluents & their concomitants. When his mind
is guarded in the midst of mental effluents & their concomitants, the fac-
ulty of conviction goes to the culmination of its development. The faculty of
persistence... mindfulness... concentration... discernment goes to the culmi-
nation of its development.
This is how when one quality is established in a monk, the five faculties
are developed & developed well.
– SN XLVIII.56
§ 79. Just as the footprints of all legged animals are encompassed by
the footprint of the elephant, and the elephant’s footprint is reckoned their
chief in terms of size; in the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in
heedfulness, lie gathered in heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned their
chief...
Just as all the light of the constellations does not equal one sixteenth of
the light of the moon, and the light of the moon is reckoned their chief; in
the same way, all skillful qualities are rooted in heedfulness, lie gathered in
heedfulness, and heedfulness is reckoned their chief.
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 163
– AN X.15[35]
§ 80.
Heedfulness: the path to the Deathless;
Heedlessness: the path to death.
The heedful do not die.
The heedless are as if
already dead.
– DHP.21[49, 21]
§ 81.
He wouldn’t chase after the past,
or place expectations on the future.
What is past
is left behind.
The future
is as yet unreached.
Whatever quality is present
he clearly sees right there,
right there.
Unvanquished, unshaken,
that’s how he develops the mind.
Ardently doing his duty today,
for – who knows? – tomorrow
death may come.
There is no bargaining
with Death & his mighty horde.
Whoever lives thus ardently,
relentlessly,
both day & night,
has truly had an auspicious day:
So says the Peaceful Sage.
– MN 131[90]
§ 82. The Buddha: ’Mindfulness of death, when developed & pursued, is
of great fruit & great benefit. It plunges into the Deathless, has the Deathless
as its final end. Therefore you should develop mindfulness of death.’
164 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
When this was said, a certain monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I already
develop mindfulness of death.’
’And how do you develop mindfulness of death?’
’I think, "O, that I might live for a day & night, that I might attend
to the Blessed One’s instructions. I would have accomplished a great deal."
This is how I develop mindfulness of death.’
Then another monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I, too, already develop
mindfulness of death.’
’And how do you develop mindfulness of death?’
’I think, "O, that I might live for a day, that I might attend to the Blessed
One’s instructions. I would have accomplished a great deal." This is how I
develop mindfulness of death.’
Then another monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I, too, develop mindful-
ness of death...’I think, "O, that I might live for the interval that it takes to
eat a meal, that I might attend to the Blessed One’s instructions. I would
have accomplished a great deal"...
Then another monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I, too, develop mindful-
ness of death...’I think, "O, that I might live for the interval that it takes to
swallow having chewed up four morsels of food, that I might attend to the
Blessed One’s instructions. I would have accomplished a great deal"...
Then another monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I, too, develop mindful-
ness of death...’I think, "O, that I might live for the interval that it takes
to swallow having chewed up one morsel of food, that I might attend to the
Blessed One’s instructions. I would have accomplished a great deal"...
Then another monk addressed the Blessed One, ’I, too, develop mindful-
ness of death...’I think, "O, that I might live for the interval that it takes to
breathe out after breathing in, or to breathe in after breathing out, that I
might attend to the Blessed One’s instructions. I would have accomplished
a great deal." This is how I develop mindfulness of death.’
When this was said, the Blessed One addressed the monks. ’Whoever
develops mindfulness of death, thinking, "O, that I might live for a day &
night... for a day... for the interval that it takes to eat a meal... for the
interval that it takes to swallow having chewed up four morsels of food, that
I might attend to the Blessed One’s instructions. I would have accomplished
a great deal" – they are said to dwell heedlessly. They develop mindfulness
of death slowly for the sake of ending the effluents.
’But whoever develops mindfulness of death, thinking, "O, that I might
live for the interval that it takes to swallow having chewed up one morsel
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 165
of food... for the interval that it takes to breathe out after breathing in, or
to breathe in after breathing out, that I might attend to the Blessed One’s
instructions. I would have accomplished a great deal" – they are said to
dwell heedfully. They develop mindfulness of death acutely for the sake of
ending the effluents.
’Therefore you should train yourselves: "We will dwell heedfully. We will
develop mindfulness of death acutely for the sake of ending the effluents."
That is how you should train yourselves.’
– AN VI.19[22]
§ 83. Then the Blessed One addressed the monks, ’I exhort you, monks:
All fabrications are subject to decay. Attain consummation through heed-
fulness.’ Those were the Tathagata’s last words.
– DN 16[45]
§ 84. These are the four modes of practice. Which four? Painful practice
with slow intuition, painful practice with quick intuition, pleasant practice
with slow intuition, & pleasant practice with quick intuition.
And what is painful practice with slow intuition? There is the case where
a certain individual is normally of an intensely passionate nature. He per-
petually experiences pain & distress born of passion. Or he is normally of an
intensely aversive nature. He perpetually experiences pain & distress born of
aversion. Or he is normally of an intensely deluded nature. He perpetually
experiences pain & distress born of delusion. His five faculties – the faculty
of conviction... persistence... mindfulness... concentration... discernment –
are present in a weak form. Because of their weakness, he attains only slowly
the immediacy [Comm: the concentration forming the Path] that leads to
the ending of the effluents. This is called painful practice with slow intuition.
And what is painful practice with quick intuition? There is the case
where a certain individual is normally of an intensely passionate... aversive...
deluded nature. He perpetually experiences pain & distress born of delusion.
His five faculties... are present in an acute form. Because of their acuity, he
attains quickly the immediacy that leads to the ending of the effluents. This
is called painful practice with quick intuition.
And what is pleasant practice with slow intuition? There is the case
where a certain individual is normally not of an intensely passionate nature.
166 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
– AN IV.162
§ 85. These are the four modes of practice. Which four? Painful practice
with slow intuition, painful practice with quick intuition, pleasant practice
with slow intuition, & pleasant practice with quick intuition.
And what is painful practice with slow intuition? There is the case where
a monk remains focused on unattractiveness with regard to the body. Per-
cipient of loathsomeness with regard to food & non-delight with regard to
the entire world, he remains focused on impermanence with regard to all
fabrications. The perception of death is well established within him. He
dwells in dependence on the five strengths of a learner – strength of con-
viction, strength of conscience, strength of concern, strength of persistence,
& strength of discernment – but his five faculties... are present in a weak
form. Because of their weakness, he attains only slowly the immediacy that
leads to the ending of the effluents. This is called painful practice with slow
intuition.
And what is painful practice with quick intuition? There is the case
where a monk remains focused on unattractiveness with regard to the body...
focused on impermanence with regard to all fabrications. The perception of
death is well established within him. He dwells in dependence on the five
strengths of a learner... and his five faculties... are present in an acute form.
Because of their acuity, he attains quickly the immediacy that leads to the
ending of the effluents. This is called painful practice with quick intuition.
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 167
And what is pleasant practice with slow intuition? There is the case
where a monk... enters & remains in the first jhana... second jhana... third
jhana... fourth jhana. He dwells in dependence on the five strengths of a
learner... but his five faculties... are present in a weak form. Because of their
weakness, he attains only slowly the immediacy that leads to the ending of
the effluents. This is called pleasant practice with slow intuition.
And what is pleasant practice with quick intuition? There is the case
where a monk... enters & remains in the first jhana... second jhana... third
jhana... fourth jhana. He dwells in dependence on the five strengths of a
learner... and his five faculties... are present in an acute form. Because of
their acuity, he attains quickly the immediacy that leads to the ending of the
effluents. This is called pleasant practice with quick intuition.
These are the four modes of practice.
– AN IV.163
§ 86. As Ven. Sona was meditating in seclusion [after doing walking
meditation until the skin of his soles was split & bleeding], this train of
thought arose in his awareness: ’Of the Blessed One’s disciples who have
aroused their persistence, I am one, but my mind is not released from the
effluents through lack of clinging/sustenance. Now, my family has enough
wealth that it would be possible to enjoy wealth & make merit. What if I
were to disavow the training, return to the lower life, and to enjoy wealth &
make merit?’
Then the Blessed One, as soon as he perceived with his awareness the
train of thought in Ven. Sona’s awareness – as a strong man might extend
his flexed arm or flex his extended arm – disappeared from Mount Vulture
Peak, appeared in the Cool Wood right in front of Ven. Sona, and sat down
on a prepared seat. Ven. Sona, after bowing down to the Blessed One, sat
to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him, ’Just
now, as you were meditating in seclusion, didn’t this train of thought appear
to your awareness: "Of the Blessed One’s disciples who have aroused their
persistence, I am one, but my mind is not released from the effluents... What
if I were to disavow the training, return to the lower life, and to enjoy wealth
& make merit?"’
’Yes, lord.’
’Now what do you think, Sona. Before, when you were a house-dweller,
were you skilled at playing the vina?’
168 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
’Yes, lord.’
’...And when the strings of your vina were too taut, was your vina in tune
& playable?’
’No, lord.’
’...And when the strings of your vina were too loose, was your vina in
tune & playable?’
’No, lord.’
’...And when the strings of your vina were neither too taut nor too loose,
but tuned (lit: "established") to be right on pitch, was your vina in tune &
playable?’
’Yes, lord.’
’In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness,
overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus you should determine the
right pitch for your persistence, attune (’penetrate, ’ferret out’) the pitch of
the [five] faculties [to that], and there pick up your theme.’
’Yes, lord,’ Ven. Sona answered the Blessed One. Then, having given this
exhortation to Ven. Sona, the Blessed One – as a strong man might extend
his flexed arm or flex his extended arm – disappeared from the Cool Wood
and appeared on Mount Vulture Peak.
So after that, Ven. Sona determined the right pitch for his persistence,
attuned the pitch of the [five] faculties [to that], and there picked up his
theme. Dwelling alone, secluded, heedful, ardent, & resolute, he in no long
time reached & remained in the supreme goal of the holy life for which
clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, knowing & realizing
it for himself in the here & now. He knew: ’Birth is ended, the holy life
fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for the sake of this world.’
And thus Ven. Sona became another one of the Arahants.
– AN VI.55[23]
§ 87. There is a manner of reckoning whereby a monk who is a learner,
standing at the level of a learner, can discern that ’I am a learner,’ and
whereby a monk who is an adept (Arahant), standing at the level of an
adept, can discern that ’I am an adept.’
...There is the case where a monk is a learner. He discerns, as it actually is,
that ’This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation
of stress... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’
8.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 169
– SN XLVIII.53
§ 88. When a disciple of the noble ones discerns, as they actually are
present, the origination, the disappearance, the allure, the drawbacks – and
the emancipation from – these five faculties, he is called a disciple of the
noble ones who has attained the stream, not subject to perdition, certain,
destined for self-awakening... When, having discerned as they actually are
present, the origination, the disappearance, the allure, the drawbacks – and
170 Chapter 8. The Five Faculties
the emancipation from – these five faculties, he is released from lack of cling-
ing/sustenance, he is called an Arahant...
– SN XLVIII.3, 5
§ 89. The Buddha: Sariputta, do you take it on conviction that the
faculty of conviction, when developed & pursued, plunges into the Deathless,
has the Deathless as its goal & consummation? Do you take it on conviction
that the faculty of persistence... mindfulness... concentration... discernment,
when developed & pursued, plunges into the Deathless, has the Deathless as
its goal & consummation?
Sariputta: It’s not that I take it on conviction in the Blessed One that
the faculty of conviction... persistence... mindfulness... concentration... dis-
cernment, when developed & pursued, plunges into the Deathless, has the
Deathless as its goal & consummation. Those who have not known, seen, pen-
etrated, realized, or attained it by means of discernment would have to take
it on conviction in others that the faculty of conviction... discernment... has
the Deathless as its goal & consummation; whereas those who have known,
seen, penetrated, realized, & attained it by means of discernment would have
no doubt or uncertainty that the faculty of conviction... discernment... has
the Deathless as its goal & consummation. And as for me, I have known,
seen, penetrated, realized, & attained it by means of discernment. I have no
doubt or uncertainty that the faculty of conviction... discernment... has the
Deathless as its goal & consummation.
– SN XLVIII.44[139]
Chapter 9
§ 90. There are these five strengths. Which five? Strength of conviction,
strength of persistence, strength of mindfulness, strength of concentration,
& strength of discernment. These are the five strengths.
Just as the River Ganges flows to the east, slopes to the east, inclines to
the east, in the same way when a monk develops & pursues the five strengths,
he flows to Unbinding, slopes to Unbinding, inclines to Unbinding.
And how is it that when a monk develops & pursues the five strengths,
he flows... slopes... inclines to Unbinding?
There is the case where the monk develops strength of conviction depen-
dent on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting
in letting go. He develops strength of persistence... mindfulness... con-
centration... discernment dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation,
resulting in letting go.
This is how a monk, when developing & pursuing the five strengths,
flows... slopes... inclines to Unbinding.
– SN L.1
§ 91. There is a manner of reckoning whereby the five faculties are
the same as the five strengths, and the five strengths the same as the five
faculties. And what is that method?
Whatever is the faculty of conviction, that is the strength of conviction.
Whatever is the strength of conviction, that is the faculty of conviction.
Whatever is the faculty of persistence, that is the strength of persistence.
Whatever is the strength of persistence, that is the faculty of persistence.
171
172 Chapter 9. The Five Strengths
– SN XLVIII.43
Chapter 10
The seven factors for Awakening (bojjhanga) are closely related to the prac-
tice of the four frames of reference. The texts use two patterns to describe
this relationship. The first pattern is a spiral, showing how the seven fac-
tors for Awakening build on the four frames of reference [§92]. This point is
reflected in the position of mindfulness – defined as the practice of any one of
the four frames of reference – as the first factor in the list. Discernment, in
the role of the analysis of mental qualities into skillful and unskillful, builds
on right mindfulness and leads to persistence, which in the form of right
effort/exertion maximizes the skillful qualities and minimizes the unskillful
ones. This in turn leads to four factors associated with jhana: rapture, seren-
ity, concentration, and equanimity. Equanimity, here, is not a neutral feeling,
but rather a balancing or moderation – an evenness of mind – with regard
to any feeling or object that arises. It is identical with the equanimity in the
fourth jhana [§149] and with the inherent equanimity in the fifth factor of
five-factored noble concentration [§150], which can develop out of any of the
four jhanas. As such it can either lead to greater mastery of meditation –
as the purity of mindfulness that accompanies the fourth jhana provides the
basis for even more precise analysis of qualities, thus allowing the causal loop
to spiral to a higher level – or else develop into the state of non-fashioning
that opens to Awakening.
Abhidhamma texts seem to contradict the point that equanimity feeds
back into mindfulness in this way, for they maintain that the factors for
Awakening are transcendent – in other words, that they come into play only
173
174 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
point for appropriate attention. The vast majority of the questions that the
Buddha asks and answers categorically in the texts fall into three general
sorts: (a) those that seek to identify terms and categories useful for the task
of ending stress and suffering; (b) those that seek to place particular events
in their proper category; and (c) those that seek to understand the causal
role of events assigned to the various categories: how they condition, and are
conditioned by, one another. A sub-set of (c) consists of questions concerning
the effect that one’s questions and one’s approach to the practice in general
have on the mind. All of these three sorts of question are closely related to
the three stages of frames-of-reference meditation: sorts (a) and (b) relate to
the first stage, and sort (c) to the second, whereas the sub-set of (c) dealing
with the questioning approach itself leads directly to the third. This last sub-
set also forms the overall principle for delineating all four classes of questions
mentioned above: the effect that the process of asking and answering has
on the mind. In simple terms, this principle means viewing experience in
terms of cause and effect, viewing questions in terms of cause and effect,
classifying them according to the results that come from trying to answer
them, and treating them only in ways that will help lead to the ending of
suffering and stress. This is the proper function of appropriate attention in
its most mature form.
To arrive at this mature level, however, appropriate attention must be
developed step by step. These steps can be shown by taking the passages
given in this section and viewing them in the context of the practice of the
fourth frame of reference: focusing on the mental qualities of the hindrances
and the factors for Awakening in and of themselves in the course of developing
concentration.
The first step is simply to identify the hindrances and factors for Awaken-
ing as they are experienced, noting their presence and absence in the mind –
a movement toward what the Buddha called "entering into emptiness" [II/B
(Section 4.1)]. As III/D (Section 14) makes clear, there are several prelim-
inary steps in concentration practice leading up to the ability to do this.
When these are mastered, one can focus on, say, the hindrance of ill-will not
in terms of the object of the ill-will, but on the quality of ill-will as a mere
event in the mind. The question here is not, "What am I angry about?"
or "What did that person do wrong?" but simply "What is happening in
my mind? How can it be classed?" Given the well-known Buddhist teaching
on not-self, some people have wondered why the questions of appropriate
attention at this step would use such concepts as "me" and "my," but these
177
concepts are essential at this stage – where the mind is still more at home in
the narrative mode of "self" and "others" – in pointing out that the focus
of the inquiry should be directed within, rather than without. This helps to
bring one’s frame of reference to the experience of mental qualities as phe-
nomena in and of themselves, and away from the narratives that provoked
the anger to begin with. Only when this shift in reference is secure can the
concepts of "me" and "my" be dispensed with, in the third step below.
The second step in appropriate attention – corresponding to the second
stage of frames-of-reference practice – is to inquire into the causal functioning
of the hindrances and factors for Awakening, to see how they arise and cease
in the course of one’s concentration practice. The aim here is to gain insight
into the workings of the hindrances and factors for Awakening as one tries to
eliminate the former and bring the latter to full development. The passages
in this section dealing with this step treat the issue in terms of two metaphors
– balance on the one hand, feeding and starving on the other – and list the
desired results of the meditation as a standard of measurement for gauging
the success of one’s practice.
We have met with the role of balance already in the four bases of power
and the five faculties. What is special here is that, instead of finding a balance
within each factor for Awakening, the meditator is to use different factors
to balance out specific hindrances. The more active members – analysis
of qualities, persistence, and rapture – can be used to offset sluggish mind
states; the more calming members – serenity, concentration, and equanimity
– counteract restless mind states. Mindfulness is the only member of the set
that is inherently skillful at all times [§97], for it is the one that keeps the
need for balance in mind. To combine the portrayals of balance under this
set and under the bases of power, we can say that the more active factors for
Awakening should be used to prevent specific bases of power – such as desire
– from being too sluggish or restricted, whereas the more calming factors
for Awakening should be used to prevent desire, etc., from being too active
or scattered [§66]. It is interesting also to note that, although analysis of
qualities is a potential cause for restlessness, it is also the factor needed to
judge when its own activity is going overboard and needs to be calmed with
concentration.
Under the metaphor of feeding and starving, the skill of appropriate
attention is said to feed all the factors for Awakening, just as inappropriate
attention starves them and feeds the hindrances in their place. As §96 points
out, the role of appropriate attention at this level is to inquire into the
178 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
property that acts as a foothold for each hindrance or factor for Awakening.
The feeding process is especially direct with analysis of qualities as a factor for
Awakening – a near equivalent of appropriate attention – and the hindrance
of uncertainty. These two form a pair, in that the feeding of analysis of
qualities as a factor for Awakening in and of itself starves the hindrance of
uncertainty, and vice versa. Appropriate attention to the effects of skillful
and unskillful qualities in the mind – in other words, focusing on questions
that identify such qualities as the hindrances and the factors for Awakening,
and inquire into their causes and effects – not only feeds this factor for
Awakening but also enables one to develop its fellow factors. Inappropriate
attention to issues that excite uncertainty – asking questions that can lead
only to doubt and perplexity – not only feeds the hindrance of uncertainty,
but leads to a sense of confusion that prevents all the factors for Awakening
from developing.
With some of the other factors for Awakening – such as mindfulness,
rapture, and equanimity – the texts are vague as to exactly which properties
form their potential footholds. A few of these properties can be inferred
from other texts, so they are cross-referenced in the relevant passages. The
remaining instances can serve as challenges for each meditator to explore
through practice. Challenges of this sort are valuable in forcing one to become
self-reliant at observing cause and effect and asking the right questions: two
skills that are basic to the development of appropriate attention and the path
of practice as a whole.
As one becomes more successful in identifying these properties and at-
tending to them in the appropriate way, one’s skill at concentration practice
improves. Concentration and equanimity then feed back into the loop by pu-
rifying mindfulness in the practice of jhana [§72], providing a steady basis for
discernment in terms of more precise analysis of qualities and more subtlety
in one’s attention. This can lead either to improved abilities at concentration
or to a more self-referential mode away from the "object" of the practice and
turning toward the "approach" [II/B (Section 4.1)], where these activities of
discernment become sensitive to themselves as events in the causal network.
In particular, they can begin to ask questions about their own acts of ques-
tioning, to see what latent assumptions are still causing them uncertainty
and getting in the way of their further development. In this way, they come
to the third step in their development.
According to the texts, the most insidious issues that can excite uncer-
tainty are questions that center on the concept of "I": "Do I exist?" "Do I not
179
inquiry can bring the mind to the third stage of frames-of-reference medita-
tion by calling into question the "me" and "my" assumed in the first step of
questioning. This undermines any sense of self-identification, first with the
hindrances – such as "I’m drowsy" – and then with the factors for Awakening
– such as "My mind is serene" [§167]. All that then remains is the radically
phenomenological mode that enters fully into the emptiness on the verge of
non-fashioning [II/B (Section 4.1)], where there are no longer any questions,
but simply awareness that "There are mental qualities"... "There is this."
This is the threshold to Awakening.
On cognizing a pleasant idea with the intellect, he does not hanker after
it, does not delight in it, does not give rise to passion for it. Unmoved in
body & unmoved in mind, he is inwardly well composed & well released. On
cognizing an unpleasant idea with the intellect, he is not upset, his mind is not
unsettled, his feelings are not wounded, his mind does not become resentful.
Unmoved in body & unmoved in mind, he is inwardly well composed & well
released. This is how, Kundaliya, restraint of the senses, when developed &
pursued, leads to the culmination of the three courses of right conduct.
And how are the three courses of right conduct developed & pursued so as
to lead to the culmination of the four frames of reference? There is the case
where a monk abandons wrong conduct in terms of his deeds and develops
right conduct in terms of his deeds; abandons wrong conduct in terms of his
speech and develops right conduct in terms of his speech; abandons wrong
conduct in terms of his thoughts and develops right conduct in terms of his
thoughts. This is how, Kundaliya, the three courses of right conduct, when
developed & pursued, lead to the culmination of the four frames of reference.
And how are the four frames of reference developed & pursued so that
the seven factors for Awakening come to completion?
{[1] On whatever occasion the monk remains focused on the body in &
of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world, on that occasion his mindfulness is steady & without
lapse. When his mindfulness is steady & without lapse, then mindfulness as
a factor for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes
to the culmination of its development.
[2] Remaining mindful in this way, he examines, analyzes, & comes to a
comprehension of that quality with discernment. When he remains mindful
in this way, examining, analyzing, & coming to a comprehension of that
quality with discernment, then analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening
becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of
its development.
[3] In one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a comprehension of that
quality with discernment, unflagging persistence is aroused. When unflag-
ging persistence is aroused in one who examines, analyzes, & comes to a
comprehension of that quality with discernment, then persistence as a factor
for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the
culmination of its development.
[4] In one whose persistence is aroused, a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises.
When a rapture not-of-the-flesh arises in one whose persistence is aroused,
10.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 183
then rapture as a factor for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and
for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
[5] For one who is enraptured, the body grows calm and the mind grows
calm. When the body & mind of an enraptured monk grow calm, then
serenity as a factor for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for
him it goes to the culmination of its development.
[6] For one who is at ease – his body calmed – the mind becomes concen-
trated. When the mind of one who is at ease – his body calmed – becomes
concentrated, then concentration as a factor for Awakening becomes aroused.
He develops it, and for him it goes to the culmination of its development.
[7] He oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity. When he
oversees the mind thus concentrated with equanimity, equanimity as a factor
for Awakening becomes aroused. He develops it, and for him it goes to the
culmination of its development.
(Similarly with the other three frames of reference: feelings, mind, &
mental qualities.)}
This is how, Kundaliya, the four frames of reference, when developed &
pursued, lead to the culmination of the seven factors for Awakening.
And how are the seven factors for Awakening developed & pursued so
as to lead to the culmination of clear knowing & release? There is the case
where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for Awakening dependent
on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. He devel-
ops analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening...persistence as a factor
for Awakening...rapture as a factor for Awakening...serenity as a factor for
Awakening...concentration as a factor for Awakening...equanimity as a factor
for Awakening dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in
letting go. This is how, Kundaliya, the seven factors for Awakening, when
developed & pursued, lead to the culmination of clear knowing & release.’
When this had been said, Kundaliya the Wanderer said to the Blessed
One: ’Magnificent, Ven. Gotama, magnificent. Just as if he were to place
upright what was overturned, to reveal what was hidden, to show the way to
one who was lost, or to carry a lamp into the dark so that those with eyes
could see forms, in the same way has Ven. Gotama – through many lines of
reasoning – made the Dhamma clear.I go to Ven. Gotama for refuge, to the
Dhamma, & to the community of monks. May Ven. Gotama regard me as a
lay follower gone for refuge from this day forth as long as life shall last.’
184 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
– SN XLVI.6 { + MN 118[86]}
§ 93. Now in what way does a monk develop & pursue mindfulness of
in-&-out breathing so that it bears great fruit & great benefits?
There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for
Awakening accompanied by mindfulness of in-&-out breathing – dependent
on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. He devel-
ops analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening... persistence as a factor
for Awakening...rapture as a factor for Awakening...serenity as a factor for
Awakening...concentration as a factor for Awakening...equanimity as a factor
for Awakening dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in
letting go. This is how mindfulness of in-&-out breathing is developed &
pursued so that it bears great fruit & great benefits.
– SN LIV.2
§ 94. Now what is the manner of reckoning by which the seven factors
for Awakening are fourteen?
[1] Any mindfulness with regard to internal qualities is mindfulness as a
factor for Awakening. And any mindfulness with regard to external qualities
is also mindfulness as a factor for Awakening. Thus this forms the definition
of ’mindfulness as a factor for Awakening,’ and it is in this manner that it is
two.
[2] Any time one examines, investigates, & scrutinizes internal qualities
with discernment, that is analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening.
And any time one examines, investigates, & scrutinizes external qualities with
discernment, that too is analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening. Thus
this forms the definition of ’analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening,’
and it is in this manner that it is two.
[3] Any bodily persistence is persistence as a factor for Awakening. And
any mental persistence is also persistence as a factor for Awakening. Thus
this forms the definition of ’persistence as a factor for Awakening,’ and it is
in this manner that it is two.
[4] Any rapture accompanied by directed thought & evaluation is rapture
as a factor for Awakening. And any rapture unaccompanied by directed
thought & evaluation is also rapture as a factor for Awakening. Thus this
forms the definition of ’rapture as a factor for Awakening,’ and it is in this
manner that it is two.
10.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 185
[5] Any bodily serenity is serenity as a factor for Awakening. And any
mental serenity is also serenity as a factor for Awakening. Thus this forms
the definition of ’serenity as a factor for Awakening,’ and it is in this manner
that it is two.
[6] Any concentration accompanied by directed thought & evaluation is
concentration as a factor for Awakening. And any concentration unaccom-
panied by directed thought & evaluation is also concentration as a factor for
Awakening. Thus this forms the definition of ’concentration as a factor for
Awakening,’ and it is in this manner that it is two.
[7] Any equanimity with regard to internal qualities is equanimity as a
factor for Awakening. And any equanimity with regard to external qualities
is also equanimity as a factor for Awakening. Thus this forms the definition
of ’equanimity as a factor for Awakening,’ and it is in this manner that it is
two.
This is the manner of reckoning by which the seven factors for Awakening
are fourteen.
– SN XLVI.52
§ 95. I do not envision any one quality by which unarisen factors for
Awakening do not arise, and arisen factors for Awakening do not go to the
culmination of their development, like inappropriate attention. When a per-
son’s attention is inappropriate, unarisen factors for Awakening do not arise,
and arisen factors for Awakening do not go to the culmination of their de-
velopment.
I do not envision any one quality by which unarisen factors for Awakening
arise, and arisen factors for Awakening go to the culmination of their develop-
ment, like appropriate attention. When a person’s attention is appropriate,
unarisen factors for Awakening arise, and arisen factors for Awakening go to
the culmination of their development. [§§51; 53]
– AN I.75-76
§ 96. Monks, I will teach you the feeding & starving of the five hindrances
& of the seven factors for Awakening. Listen & pay close attention. I will
speak...
Feeding the Hindrances. And what is the food for the arising of
unarisen sensual desire, or for the growth & increase of sensual desire once it
186 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
Awakening, or for the growth & increase of persistence... once it has arisen?
There is the potential for effort, the potential for exertion, the potential for
striving. To foster appropriate attention to them: This is the food for the
arising of unarisen persistence as a factor for Awakening, or for the growth
& increase of persistence... once it has arisen.
And what is the food for the arising of unarisen rapture as a factor for
Awakening, or for the growth & increase of rapture... once it has arisen?
There are mental qualities that act as a foothold for rapture as a factor for
Awakening. To foster appropriate attention to them: This is the food for
the arising of unarisen rapture as a factor for Awakening, or for the growth
& increase of rapture... once it has arisen.
And what is the food for the arising of unarisen serenity as a factor for
Awakening, or for the growth & increase of serenity... once it has arisen?
There is physical serenity & there is mental serenity. To foster appropriate
attention to them: This is the food for the arising of unarisen serenity as a
factor for Awakening, or for the growth & increase of serenity... once it has
arisen.
And what is the food for the arising of unarisen concentration as a factor
for Awakening, or for the growth & increase of concentration... once it has
arisen? There are themes for calm, themes for non-distraction [these are
the four frames of reference; see §148]. To foster appropriate attention to
them: This is the food for the arising of unarisen concentration as a factor
for Awakening, or for the growth & increase of concentration... once it has
arisen.
And what is the food for the arising of unarisen equanimity as a factor for
Awakening, or for the growth & increase of equanimity... once it has arisen?
There are mental qualities that act as a foothold for equanimity as a factor
for Awakening. To foster appropriate attention to them: This is the food
for the arising of unarisen equanimity as a factor for Awakening, or for the
growth & increase of equanimity... once it has arisen.
Starving the Hindrances. Now, what is lack of food for the arising of
unarisen sensual desire, or for the growth & increase of sensual desire once
it has arisen? There is the theme of unattractiveness. To foster appropriate
attention to it: This is lack of food for the arising of unarisen sensual desire,
or for the growth & increase of sensual desire once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen ill will, or for the
growth & increase of ill will once it has arisen? There is the release of the
mind [through good will, compassion, appreciation, or equanimity]. To foster
188 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
appropriate attention to that: This is lack of food for the arising of unarisen
ill will, or for the growth & increase of ill will once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen sloth & drowsiness, or
for the growth & increase of sloth & drowsiness once it has arisen? There is
the potential for effort, the potential for exertion, the potential for striving.
To foster appropriate attention to them: This is lack of food for the arising
of unarisen sloth & drowsiness, or for the growth & increase of sloth &
drowsiness once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen restlessness & anxiety,
or for the growth & increase of restlessness & anxiety once it has arisen?
There is stillness of awareness. To foster appropriate attention to that: This
is lack of food for the arising of unarisen restlessness & anxiety, or for the
growth & increase of restlessness & anxiety once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen uncertainty, or for
the growth & increase of uncertainty once it has arisen? There are mental
qualities that are skillful & unskillful, blameworthy & blameless, gross &
refined, siding with darkness & with light. To foster appropriate attention
to them: This is lack of food for the arising of unarisen uncertainty, or for
the growth & increase of uncertainty once it has arisen.
Starving the Factors for Awakening. Now, what is lack of food
for the arising of unarisen mindfulness as a factor for Awakening, or for
the growth & increase of mindfulness... once it has arisen? There are mental
qualities that act as a foothold for mindfulness as a factor for Awakening. To
foster inappropriate attention to them: This is lack of food for the arising of
unarisen mindfulness as a factor for Awakening, or for the growth & increase
of mindfulness... once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen analysis of qualities as
a factor for Awakening, or for the growth & increase of analysis of qualities...
once it has arisen? There are mental qualities that are skillful & unskillful,
blameworthy & blameless, gross & refined, siding with darkness & with light.
To foster inappropriate attention to them: This is lack of food for the arising
of unarisen analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening, or for the growth
& increase of analysis of qualities... once it has arisen.
And what is lack of food for the arising of unarisen persistence as a factor
for Awakening, or for the growth & increase of persistence... once it has
arisen? There is the potential for effort, the potential for exertion, the po-
tential for striving. To foster inappropriate attention to them: This is lack
of food for the arising of unarisen persistence as a factor for Awakening, or
10.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 189
– SN XLVI.51[131]
§ 97. Fire. Monks, on occasions when the mind is sluggish, that is the
wrong time to develop serenity as a factor for Awakening, concentration as
a factor for Awakening, equanimity as a factor for Awakening. Why is that?
The sluggish mind is hard to raise up by those mental qualities. Just as if
a man, wanting to make a small fire blaze up, were to place wet grass in it,
wet cow dung, & wet sticks; were to give it a spray of water and smother it
with dust. Is it possible that he would make the small fire blaze up?
No, lord.
In the same way, when the mind is sluggish, that is the wrong time
to develop serenity as a factor for Awakening, concentration as a factor for
190 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
– SN XLVI.53
§ 98. Awareness-release. And how is the awareness-release through
good will developed, what is its destiny, what is its excellence, its reward, &
its consummation?
There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for
Awakening accompanied by good will, dependent on seclusion... dispassion...
cessation, resulting in letting go. He develops analysis of qualities as a factor
for Awakening...persistence as a factor for Awakening...rapture as a factor
for Awakening...serenity as a factor for Awakening...concentration as a factor
for Awakening...equanimity as a factor for Awakening accompanied by good
will, dependent on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go.
If he wants, he remains percipient of loathsomeness in the presence of what
is not loathsome. If he wants, he remains percipient of unloathsomeness in
the presence of what is loathsome. If he wants, he remains percipient of
loathsomeness in the presence of what is not loathsome & what is. If he
wants, he remains percipient of unloathsomeness in the presence of what is
loathsome & what is not. If he wants – in the presence of what is loathsome
& what is not – cutting himself off from both, he remains equanimous, alert,
& mindful [§§46; 181]. Or he may enter & remain in the beautiful liberation.
I tell you, monks, the awareness-release through good will has the beautiful
as its excellence – in the case of one who has penetrated to no higher release.
And how is the awareness-release through compassion developed, what is
its destiny, what is its excellence, its reward, & its consummation?
There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for
Awakening accompanied by compassion... etc... If he wants – in the presence
of what is loathsome & what is not – cutting himself off from both, he
remains equanimous, alert, & mindful. Or, with the complete transcending
of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of
resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, ’Infinite space,’
he enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude of space. I tell you,
monks, the awareness-release through compassion has the dimension of the
infinitude of space as its excellence – in the case of one who has penetrated
to no higher release.
And how is the awareness-release through appreciation developed, what
is its destiny, what is its excellence, its reward, & its consummation?
There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for
192 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
– SN XLVI.54
§ 99. Imagine, Uttiya, a royal frontier fortress, with strong foundations,
strong walls & towers, and a single gate. There at the gate is a wise gate-
keeper, experienced & intelligent, who keeps out strangers and lets in only
those he knows. As he patrols along the road around the fortress he would
not see any joints or openings in the wall large enough for even a cat to slip
through. And although he wouldn’t know exactly how many living beings
entered or left the fortress, he would know that whatever living beings of
any size entered or left the fortress, they would all leave or enter through the
gate.
In the same way, the Tathagata is not concerned that the whole world
or half of it or one third of it will escape by means of [the Dhamma]. What
he does know is this: ’All of those who have escaped from the world or are
escaping or will escape, have done so by abandoning the five hindrances –
those defilements of awareness that weaken discernment – their minds well-
established in (well-tuned to) the four frames of reference, developing as they
actually are the seven factors for Awakening. That is how they escaped from
the world or are escaping or will escape.
10.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 193
– AN X.95[40]
§ 100.
– DHP.89[50, 89]
194 Chapter 10. The Seven Factors for Awakening
Chapter 11
The noble eightfold path is the most standard description of the Buddhist
way of practice. The Buddha taught it to his first disciples and to his last
[§240], as well as to the majority of those in between. It is called noble
because when all of its factors come together in a fully developed form, they
stand on the threshold to stream-entry, the first of the noble or transcendent
attainments.
The image of "path" used for the factors of this set has two major im-
plications, which we have already encountered in II/D (Section 6.1). First,
the image implies that these factors are means to an end, not an end in
themselves; second, they lead to, rather than cause, the goal. In the context
of this set, this image has two levels of meaning: On the beginning level,
the path is a series of qualities that one must consciously develop, step by
step, in order to bring oneself nearer to the goal. On the ultimate or "noble"
level, it is a convergence of those qualities, fully developed, within the mind
at the point of non-fashioning, leading inexorably to the Deathless. On the
beginning level, one must work at following the path, but on the noble level
the path becomes a vehicle that delivers one to the goal.
The eight factors of the noble eightfold path fall under the "aggregates" of
discernment, virtue, and concentration (pañña-khandha, sila-khandha, samadhi-
khandha): right view and right resolve fall under the discernment aggregate;
right speech, right action, and right livelihood under the virtue aggregate;
and right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration under the con-
centration aggregate. Passage §105 states that although the factors of the
noble path fall under the three aggregates, the three aggregates do not fall
under the factors of the noble path. What this means is that not every in-
195
196 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
[see the "qualities that are to be developed" in §111], with the boundaries
between the two increasingly blurred. The noble level of right resolve, part
of the discernment aggregate, consists of directed thought, evaluation, and
mental singleness, all of which are factors of jhana. The noble level of right
speech, right action, and right livelihood differ from the mundane levels of
those factors in that the emphasis here is on the state of mind of the person
abstaining from wrong speech, action, and livelihood. Although §106 does
not define the noble levels of right effort, mindfulness, and concentration, it
seems safe to assume that they are equivalent to the fifth factor of noble right
concentration [§150], to be discussed under III/E (Section 15.1) and III/F
(Section 16.1), in which all three of these factors converge with right view
and right resolve in a state of full development. In fact, their mutual rein-
forcement is what makes these factors all "right." This point is confirmed by
§111, which states that when the noble eightfold path goes to the culmination
of its development, tranquillity and insight act in concert. This point also
explains the statement at the beginning of §106 to the effect that the path
consists primarily of right concentration, with the remaining factors as its
supports and requisite conditions: These supports and conditions not only
lead to right concentration, but when they all become noble, all eight factors
coalesce in the mind in a state of solid oneness. Whereas on the mundane
level the path factors, though interconnected, were separate, on the noble
level they form a single, unified path.
When the noble eightfold path is attained, the mind reaches the level
of stream-entry, the first of the four levels of Awakening [§107]. Thus the
noble eightfold path represents the culmination of all seven sets in the Wings
to Awakening [§111]. To attain each of the next two levels of Awakening –
once-returning and non-returning – the eight noble path factors must con-
verge again in the mind. However, to attain the highest level – Arahantship
– the eight noble factors must converge together with two more: right knowl-
edge and right release. Right knowledge is nowhere defined per se in the
Canon, but §195 would seem to indicate the following relationship between
it and right view: Right view is realization of the four noble truths and the
duties appropriate to each, while right knowledge is the realization that the
duties have been brought to fulfillment. The conjunction of right knowledge
and right release reflects, on a higher level, the conjunction of discernment
and concentration on the noble level of the eightfold path. Passage §76 in-
dicates that release here can be considered as analogous to concentration,
albeit totally unshakable. Right knowledge would include awareness of the
198 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
unshakability of the release [§195], while the release would remain unshaken
even in the face of that knowledge.
At this point, even the path can be abandoned, for one has reached the
goal [§113]. Abandoning, here, does not mean that one reverts to wrongs
views, wrong action, etc.; rather, one no longer needs to use right view, etc.,
as a means to a further attainment. As MN 107[82] and SN XXII.122[120]
state, the Awakened one continues practicing meditation and exercising right
view as pleasant dwellings for the mind, conducive to mindfulness and alert-
ness, and leads a moral life both for its inherent pleasure and for the sake of
the example it offers to those still on the path.
The noble eightfold path, like the seven factors for Awakening, is explicitly
explained both as a causal loop and as a holographic formula. We have
already described the causal loop above, in showing how the development of
the mundane and noble path factors follows the pattern of the five faculties
[see also §101]. Passage §106 presents a holographic pattern, in which the
development of each factor needs three main supporting factors: right view,
which acts as the leader so as to know what the right and wrong versions
of the factors are; right effort, which makes the effort to abandon the wrong
version and develop the right; and right mindfulness, which keeps the task of
right effort in mind. Thus three factors that we have identified as essential
to the development of skillfulness – discernment, mindfulness, and effort
[I/A (Section I)] – are involved at each step along the path. As a result of
that involvement, they grow stronger to the point where they can help turn
mundane right concentration – the fourth factor essential to the development
of skillfulness – into noble right concentration. In this sense, they play a
role analogous to that of heedfulness in the five faculties and appropriate
attention in the seven factors for Awakening. In fact, they seem to be a
complete working out of the elements implicit in those two qualities.
A quick review of the seven sets will show that all of them develop both in
a linear and in a holographic way. Even the "holographic" sets – the frames
of reference, right exertions, and bases of power – contain implicit versions
of causal loops, in that all three must follow the three stages of frames-of-
reference meditation. Even the linear causal-loop sets – the five faculties and
strengths, the seven factors for Awakening, and the noble eightfold path –
contain implicit holographic formulae, in that the dynamic of their develop-
ment is inherent in specific qualities or clusters of qualities: heedfulness in
the case of the faculties and strengths, appropriate attention in the case of
the factors for Awakening, and the cluster of right view, right mindfulness,
11.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 199
and right effort in the case of the noble eightfold path. This combination of
linear and holographic patterns grows more complex as we remember that
each of the first two stages of frames-of-reference meditation can form linear
causal loops within themselves [II/B (Section 4.1)], while two of the factors
in the three-part cluster that develops the eightfold path – right mindful-
ness and right effort – are equivalent to the holographic sets of the frames of
reference and the right exertions.
This formal convergence of two causal patterns in the development of the
path reflects not only the dual principle of this/that conditionality, but also
a very practical point in the task of developing the skills of the mind. The
holographic pattern reflects the fact that all the skillful qualities needed for
the path are already there in the mind and continually interact along the
path. All that is needed is for them to be ferreted out and nourished, their
coordination fine-tuned, and they can deliver the mind to the goal. The
causal loop pattern reflects the fact that the process must take place over
time, as specific qualities are stressed at specific junctures and strengthened
by being put to use, and as different skillful qualities need to alternate in
helping one another, step by step, along the way. An analogy can be made
with learning how to walk: A child who can’t yet walk already has all the
muscles needed to walk, but she must locate them and exercise them in a
coordinated way, so that the right and left leg can help and receive help from
each other, in order to move from the first tentative step to the point where
walking seems natural and can be done with grace.
– SN XLV.1[128]
§ 102. Analysis of the Path. Monks, what is the noble eightfold
path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
And what is right view? Knowledge with regard to stress, knowledge with
regard to the origination of stress, knowledge with regard to the cessation of
stress, knowledge with regard to the way of practice leading to the cessation
of stress: This is called right view. [§§184-240]
And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, on freedom
from ill will, on harmlessness: This is called right resolve.
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech,
from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
And what is right action? Abstaining from taking life, from stealing, &
from unchastity: This is called right action.
And what is right livelihood? There is the case where a disciple of the
noble ones, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with
right livelihood. This is called right livelihood.
And what is right effort? There is the case where a monk generates desire,
endeavors, arouses persistence, upholds & exerts his intent for the sake of the
non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen... for the sake
of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen... for the sake
of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen...(and) for the main-
tenance, non-confusion, increase, plenitude, development, & culmination of
skillful qualities that have arisen. This is called right effort. [§49]
And what is right mindfulness? There is the case where a monk remains
focused on the body in & of itself – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside
greed & distress with reference to the world. He remains focused on feelings
in & of themselves... the mind in & of itself... mental qualities in & of
themselves – ardent, alert, & mindful – putting aside greed & distress with
reference to the world. This is called right mindfulness. [§30]
And what is right concentration? There is the case where a monk – quite
withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful [mental] qualities –
11.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 201
enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal,
accompanied by directed thought & evaluation. With the stilling of directed
thought & evaluation, he enters & remains in the second jhana: rapture
& pleasure born of composure, unification of awareness free from directed
thought & evaluation – internal assurance. With the fading of rapture he
remains in equanimity, mindful & alert, and physically sensitive of pleasure.
He enters & remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare,
’Equanimous & mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.’ With the abandoning
of pleasure & pain – as with the earlier disappearance of elation & distress –
he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness,
neither pleasure nor pain. This is called right concentration. [§150]
– SN XLV.8[130]
§ 103. More on Right Action & Right Speech. Having thus gone
forth, following the training & way of life of the monks, abandoning the
taking of life, he abstains from the taking of life. He dwells with his rod
laid down, his knife laid down, scrupulous, merciful, compassionate for the
welfare of all living beings. Abandoning the taking of what is not given, he
abstains from taking what is not given. He takes only what is given, accepts
only what is given, lives not by stealth but by means of a self that has become
pure. Abandoning uncelibacy, he lives a celibate life, aloof, refraining from
the sexual act that is the villager’s way.
Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. He speaks the
truth, holds to the truth, is firm, reliable, no deceiver of the world. Aban-
doning divisive speech he abstains from divisive speech. What he has heard
here he does not tell there to break those people apart from these people
here. What he has heard there he does not tell here to break these people
apart from those people there. Thus reconciling those who have broken apart
or cementing those who are united, he loves concord, delights in concord, en-
joys concord, speaks things that create concord. Abandoning abusive speech,
he abstains from abusive speech. He speaks words that are soothing to the
ear, that are affectionate, that go to the heart, that are polite, appealing
& pleasing to people at large. Abandoning idle chatter, he abstains from
idle chatter. He speaks in season, speaks what is factual, what is in accor-
dance with the goal, the Dhamma, & the Vinaya. He speaks words worth
treasuring, seasonable, reasonable, circumscribed, connected with the goal.
– AN X.99
202 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
§ 104. More on Right Action & Right Speech for Lay People.
Abandoning sensual misconduct, he abstains from sensual misconduct. He
does not get sexually involved with those who are protected by their mothers,
their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their relatives, or their Dhamma;
those with husbands, those who entail punishments, or even those crowned
with flowers by another man.
Abandoning false speech, he abstains from false speech. When he has
been called to a town meeting, a group meeting, a gathering of his relatives,
his guild, or of the royalty [i.e., a royal court proceeding], if he is asked as
a witness, ’Come & tell, good man, what you know’: If he doesn’t know, he
says, ’I don’t know.’ If he does know, he says, ’I know.’ If he hasn’t seen, he
says, ’I haven’t seen.’ If he has seen, he says, ’I have seen.’ Thus he doesn’t
consciously tell a lie for his own sake, for the sake of another, or for the sake
of any reward. [This paragraph is missing in the PTS translation.]
– AN X.176[41]
§ 105. Visakha: Is the noble eightfold path compounded or uncom-
pounded?
Sister Dhammadinna: The noble eightfold path is compounded.
Visakha: And are the three aggregates [of virtue, concentration, & dis-
cernment] included under the noble eightfold path, or is the noble eightfold
path included under the three aggregates?
Sister Dhammadinna: The three aggregates are not included under the
noble eightfold path, but the noble eightfold path is included under the three
aggregates. Right speech, right action, & right livelihood come under the
aggregate of virtue. Right effort, right mindfulness, & right concentration
come under the aggregate of concentration. Right view & right resolve come
under the aggregate of discernment.
– MN 44[75]
§ 106. And what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports
& requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven
factors – right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood,
right effort, & right mindfulness – is called noble right concentration with its
supports & requisite conditions.
11.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 203
[1] Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the
forerunner? One discerns wrong view as wrong view, and right view as right
view. This is one’s right view. And what is wrong view? ’There is nothing
given, nothing offered, nothing sacrificed. There is no fruit or result of good
or bad actions. There is no this world, no next world, no mother, no father,
no spontaneously reborn beings; no priests or contemplatives who, faring
rightly & practicing rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having
directly known & realized it for themselves.’ This is wrong view.
And what is right view? Right view, I tell you, is of two sorts: There
is right view with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in acquisitions; and
there is noble right view, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.
And what is the right view that has effluents, sides with merit, & results
in acquisitions? ’There is what is given, what is offered, what is sacrificed.
There are fruits & results of good & bad actions. There is this world &
the next world. There is mother & father. There are spontaneously reborn
beings; there are priests & contemplatives who, faring rightly & practicing
rightly, proclaim this world & the next after having directly known & realized
it for themselves.’ This is the right view that has effluents, sides with merit,
& results in acquisitions.
And what is the right view that is without effluents, transcendent, a factor
of the path? The discernment, the faculty of discernment, the strength of
discernment, analysis of qualities as a factor for Awakening, the path factor
of right view in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose
mind is free from effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is
the right view that is without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.
One tries to abandon wrong view & to enter into right view: This is one’s
right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in
right view: This is one’s right mindfulness. Thus these three qualities – right
view, right effort, & right mindfulness – run & circle around right view.
[2] Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the
forerunner? One discerns wrong resolve as wrong resolve, and right resolve
as right resolve. And what is wrong resolve? Being resolved on sensuality,
on ill will, on harmfulness. This is wrong resolve.
And what is right resolve? Right resolve, I tell you, is of two sorts: There
is right resolve with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in the acquisitions;
and there is noble right resolve, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of
the path.
And what is the right resolve that has effluents, sides with merit, & results
204 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
forerunner? One discerns wrong action as wrong action, and right action as
right action. And what is wrong action? Killing, taking what is not given,
illicit sex. This is wrong action.
And what is right action? Right action, I tell you, is of two sorts: There
is right action with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in the acquisitions;
and there is noble right action, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of
the path.
And what is the right action that has effluents, sides with merit, & results
in acquisitions? Abstaining from killing, from taking what is not given, &
from illicit sex. This is the right action that has effluents, sides with merit,
& results in acquisitions.
And what is the right action that is without effluents, transcendent, a
factor of the path? The abstaining, desisting, abstinence, avoidance of the
three forms of bodily misconduct in one developing the noble path whose
mind is noble, whose mind is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the
noble path. This is the right action that is without effluents, transcendent,
a factor of the path.
One tries to abandon wrong action & to enter into right action: This is
one’s right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong action & to enter &
remain in right action: This is one’s right mindfulness. Thus these three
qualities – right view, right effort, & right mindfulness – run & circle around
right action.
[5] Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the
forerunner? One discerns wrong livelihood as wrong livelihood, and right
livelihood as right livelihood. And what is wrong livelihood? Scheming,
persuading, hinting, belittling, & pursuing gain with gain. This is wrong
livelihood.
And what is right livelihood? Right livelihood, I tell you, is of two sorts:
There is right livelihood with effluents, siding with merit, resulting in the ac-
quisitions; and there is noble right livelihood, without effluents, transcendent,
a factor of the path.
And what is the right livelihood that has effluents, sides with merit,
& results in acquisitions? There is the case where a disciple of the noble
ones abandons wrong livelihood and maintains his life with right livelihood.
This is the right livelihood that has effluents, sides with merit, & results in
acquisitions.
And what is the right livelihood that is without effluents, transcendent, a
factor of the path? The abstaining, desisting, abstinence, avoidance of wrong
206 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
livelihood in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind
is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is the right
livelihood that is without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.
One tries to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter into right livelihood:
This is one’s right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong livelihood & to
enter & remain in right livelihood: This is one’s right mindfulness. Thus
these three qualities – right view, right effort, & right mindfulness – run &
circle around right livelihood.
Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the fore-
runner? In one of right view, right resolve comes into being. In one of right
resolve, right speech comes into being. In one of right speech, right action...
In one of right action, right livelihood... In one of right livelihood, right ef-
fort... In one of right effort, right mindfulness... In one of right mindfulness,
right concentration... In one of right concentration, right knowledge... In
one of right knowledge, right release comes into being. Thus the learner is
endowed with eight factors, and the Arahant with ten.
Of those, right view is the forerunner. And how is right view the forerun-
ner? In one of right view, wrong view is abolished. The many evil, unskillful
qualities that come into play with wrong view as their condition are also abol-
ished, while the many skillful qualities that have right view as their condition
go to the culmination of their development. (Similarly with the remaining
factors up through:) In one of right release, wrong release is abolished. The
many evil, unskillful qualities that come into play with wrong release as their
condition are also abolished, while the many skillful qualities that have right
release as their condition go to the culmination of their development.
– MN 117[85]
§ 107. The Buddha: ’The stream, the stream,’ it is said. Now what is
the stream?
Sariputta: Just this noble eightfold path is the stream: right view, right
resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mind-
fulness, right concentration.
The Buddha: Well said, Sariputta, well said. Just this noble eightfold
path is the stream...’Streamwinner, streamwinner,’ it is said. Now what is a
streamwinner?
Sariputta: Whoever is endowed with this noble eightfold path is called a
’streamwinner.’
11.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 207
The Buddha: Well said, Sariputta, well said. Whoever is endowed with
this noble eightfold path is called a ’streamwinner.’
– SN LV.5
§ 108. Monks, just as a pot without a stand is easy to tip over, and a
pot with a stand is hard to tip over, so too the mind without a stand is easy
to tip over, and a mind with a stand is hard to tip over. And what is the
mind’s stand? Just this noble eightfold path.
– SN XLV.27
§ 109. It is possible that a well aimed spike of bearded wheat or bearded
barley, if pressed by a hand or foot, will cut into the hand or foot and draw
blood. Why is that? Because the spike is well aimed. In the same way, it is
possible that if one’s views are well aimed, one’s development of the path is
well aimed, they will cut into ignorance, give rise to clear knowing, and lead
to the realization of Unbinding. Why is that? Because one’s views are well
aimed.
And how do well aimed views and a well aimed development of the path
cut into ignorance, give rise to clear knowing, and lead to the realization of
Unbinding? There is the case where a monk develops right view dependent
on seclusion, dependent on dispassion, dependent on cessation, resulting in
letting go. He develops right resolve... right speech... right action... right
livelihood... right effort... right mindfulness... right concentration dependent
on seclusion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go. This is how well
aimed views and a well aimed development of the path cut into ignorance,
give rise to clear knowing, and lead to the realization of Unbinding.
– SN XLV.154
§ 110. Just as many kinds of wind blow in the air – east winds, west
winds, north winds, south winds, dusty winds, dustless winds, cold winds,
warm winds, gentle winds, & strong winds – in the same way, when a monk
develops the noble eightfold path, pursues the noble eightfold path, the four
frames of reference go to the culmination of their development, the four right
exertions... the four bases of power... the five faculties... the five strengths...
the seven factors for Awakening go to the culmination of their development.
208 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
– SN XLV.155
§ 111. Knowing & seeing the eye as it actually is present, knowing &
seeing forms... eye-consciousness... eye-contact as they actually are present,
knowing & seeing whatever arises conditioned through eye-contact – expe-
rienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain – as it actually is
present, one is not infatuated with the eye... forms... eye-consciousness...
eye-contact... whatever arises conditioned by eye-contact and is experienced
as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain...
Knowing & seeing the ear... Knowing & seeing the nose... Knowing &
seeing the tongue... Knowing & seeing the body...
Knowing & seeing the intellect as it actually is present, knowing & see-
ing ideas... intellect-consciousness... intellect-contact as they actually are
present, knowing & seeing whatever arises conditioned through intellect-
contact – experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain – as it
actually is present, one is not infatuated with the intellect... ideas... intellect-
consciousness... intellect-contact... whatever arises conditioned by intellect-
contact and is experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-pain.
For him – uninfatuated, unattached, unconfused, remaining focused on
their drawbacks – the five clinging-aggregates head toward future diminution.
The craving that makes for further becoming – accompanied by passion &
delight, relishing now this & now that – is abandoned by him. His bodily
disturbances & mental disturbances are abandoned. His bodily torments &
mental torments are abandoned. His bodily distresses & mental distresses
are abandoned. He is sensitive both to ease of body & ease of awareness.
Any view belonging to one who has come to be like this, is his right view.
Any resolve, his right resolve. Any effort, his right effort. Any mindfulness,
his right mindfulness. Any concentration, his right concentration: just as
earlier his actions, speech, & livelihood were already well-purified. Thus
for him, having thus developed the noble eightfold path, the four frames
of reference go to the culmination of their development... the four right
exertions... the four bases of power... the five faculties... the five strengths...
the seven factors for Awakening go to the culmination of their development.
[And] for him these two qualities occur in tandem: tranquillity & insight.
He comprehends through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be
comprehended through direct knowledge, abandons through direct knowledge
whatever qualities are to be abandoned through direct knowledge, realizes
11.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 209
– MN 149[98]
§ 112. Just as when there is a guest house where people come from the
east to take up residence, from the west... the north... the south to take
up residence: Noble warriors come there to take up residence, brahmans...
commoners... vassals come there to take up residence. In the same way,
when a monk develops the noble eightfold path, pursues the noble eightfold
path, he comprehends through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be
comprehended through direct knowledge, abandons through direct knowledge
whatever qualities are to be abandoned through direct knowledge, realizes
through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to be realized through direct
knowledge, and develops through direct knowledge whatever qualities are to
be developed through direct knowledge.
– SN XLV.159
§ 113. ’Suppose that a man, in the course of traveling along a path, were
to come to a great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky,
the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor a
bridge going from this shore to the other. The thought would occur to him,
"Here is this great expanse of water, with the near shore dubious & risky,
the further shore secure & free from risk, but with neither a ferryboat nor
a bridge going from this shore to the other. What if I were to gather grass,
210 Chapter 11. The Noble Eightfold Path
twigs, branches, & leaves and, having bound them together to make a raft,
were to cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft,
making an effort with my hands & feet?" Then the man, having gathered
grass, twigs, branches, & leaves, having bound them together to make a raft,
would cross over to safety on the other shore in dependence on the raft,
making an effort with his hands & feet. Having crossed over to the further
shore, he might think, "How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in
dependence on this raft that, making an effort with my hands & feet, I have
crossed over to safety on the further shore. Why don’t I, having hoisted it on
my head or carrying on my back, go wherever I like?" What do you think,
monks: would the man, in doing that, be doing what should be done with
the raft?’
’No, lord.’
’And what should the man do in order to be doing what should be done
with the raft? There is the case where the man, having crossed over, would
think, "How useful this raft has been to me! For it was in dependence on
this raft that, making an effort with my hands & feet, I have crossed over to
safety on the further shore. Why don’t I, having dragged it on dry land or
sinking it in the water, go wherever I like?" In doing this, he would be doing
what should be done with the raft. Even so monks, I have taught you the
Dhamma like a raft, for the purpose of crossing over, not for the purpose of
holding onto. Knowing the Dhamma to be like a raft, you should let go even
of [skillful] qualities, to say nothing of those that are not.’
– MN 22
§ 114. The great expanse of water stands for the fourfold flood: the
flood of sensuality, the flood of becoming, the flood of views, & the flood
of ignorance. The near shore, dubious & risky, stands for self-identity. The
further shore, secure and free from risk, stands for Unbinding. The raft
stands for just this noble eightfold path: right view... right concentration.
Making an effort with hands & feet stands for the arousing of persistence.
– SN XXXV.197
Part III
211
Chapter 12
Conviction
213
214 Chapter 12. Conviction
Passage §117 carries this point further, listing positive qualities to look for
in a good person: conviction in the principle of kamma, generosity, virtue,
and discernment. People who teach these qualities and embody them in their
lives qualify as good. The important point here, of course, is that good people
are ultimately recognized by what they habitually do, rather than simply by
what they say. These habits can be known only through long association
over time. This is why, in the Buddhist monkhood, a student does not take
a lifetime vow of obedience to a teacher. If he feels that the teacher does
not have his best interests at heart – i.e., if he sees that the teacher does not
really embody the above qualities – he is free to leave the teacher in search
of another.
A person who has attained stream-entry finds it easier to recognize good
people, for he/she is now a member of the noble Sangha and can recognize the
qualities of that attainment in others as well. “Good people” for a member
of the Sangha means the Buddha and the rest of the noble Sangha. Of course
the Buddha has long since passed into total nibbana, but he left his Dhamma
and Vinaya as a teacher in his stead [DN 16[46]], and so on that level one
may still associate with him.
The reason why a person embarking on the path to practice would need
to associate with good people, rather than trying to be totally self-reliant,
is that the roots of skillfulness within the mind lie mixed with the roots of
unskillfulness, and the roots of unskillfulness make it difficult to tell which
is which. Thus one needs the advice and example of others more experi-
enced on the path to help identify one’s own skillful qualities and to give
encouragement in the task of developing them [§9]. Even if one is not yet
committed to following the path, one would be wise to associate with good
people who embody conviction, generosity, virtue, and discernment, for they
are unlikely to treat one in an unfair or harmful manner. If they truly em-
body conviction and virtue, one can trust that their sense of conscience and
concern will prevent them from acting on unskillful intentions. If they truly
embody generosity and discernment, they have wisdom worth acquiring and
will be willing to share it. This sharing of wisdom forms the basis for further
benefits – as listed in §125 & §126 – setting in motion a causal chain leading
all the way to the experience of Awakening. This causal chain requires that
one listen to the teachings of good people so as to understand the implica-
tions of the principle of kamma. It also requires that one take such people
as examples to emulate in one’s own life. In this way, one can become a
better person oneself, and can enjoy the benefits that come with one’s own
216 Chapter 12. Conviction
As noted in II/H (Section 10.1), this passage means that there is merit
in generosity; that the moral qualities of good and bad are inherent in the
universe, and not simply social conventions; that there is life after death;
that one has a true moral debt to one’s parents; and that there are people
who have lived the renunciate’s life properly in such a way that they have
gained true and direct knowledge of these matters. These beliefs form the
217
of the Dhamma can become unshakably firm. The commentaries bring out
this relationship by applying the term Dhamma to all three of these levels:
doctrine, practice, and attainment, or in other words, Dhamma as an object
of awareness (on the intellectual level), as a means of releasing awareness
from bondage to its objects (on the practical level), and as the awareness
released (at the point of Awakening).
The practical aspect of conviction, prior to stream-entry, is indicated by
the factor of stream-entry called “practicing in accordance with the Dhamma”.
What this factor means is that one must be willing to put the Dhamma ahead
of one’s preferences, so that one is not practicing simply in line with one’s
likes and dislikes. This is the true test of one’s conviction. It is all too easy to
pick and choose from the teachings on the basis of other standards – here in
the West it is common to judge the Dhamma against Western psychology or
other social sciences, and to pick and choose accordingly – but one must ask
oneself the same question that Prince Siddhattha posed for himself: Which is
a more worthwhile use of one’s time, the pursuit of objects and ideals subject
to change and death, or the pursuit of the Deathless? Although there is a
long-standing recognition in the Buddhist tradition that people benefit even
if they follow only part of the teaching, the Dhamma can give its full results
only if one commits oneself fully to developing the skill of release in one’s
thoughts, words, and deeds. This training is similar to following a doctor’s
regimen: One will benefit even from following the regimen only occasionally,
but a full cure requires sticking to the regimen consistently and putting the
goal of recovery ahead of one’s other preferences. The skill of release requires
that one order one’s priorities, taking the teachings and example of those who
have attained that skill as one’s primary guide, and regarding everything else
as secondary.
With the attainment of stream-entry, one’s conviction in the principle of
kamma and its skillful mastery becomes so firm that one would not inten-
tionally break any of the basic precepts that comprise right speech, right
action, or right livelihood. This is the import of the factor of stream-entry
called “virtues that are appealing to the noble ones”. In addition to virtue,
streamwinners have also begun to develop the other two aggregates in the
noble path – concentration and discernment – but those two aggregates are
not yet fully matured [II/A (Section II); MFU, pp. 103-04[149, p103]]. As
§74 & §75 make clear, conviction cannot become firm until the remaining
four faculties, including concentration and discernment, have been strength-
ened to at least some extent. Once conviction does becomes firm, it can
12.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 221
is that? Mother & father do much for their children. They care for them,
they nourish them, they introduce them to this world.
Mother & father
compassionate to their family
are called
Brahma,
the first teachers
those worthy of gifts from their children.
So the sage should pay them
homage
honor
with food & drink
clothing & bedding
anointing & bathing
& washing their feet.
Performing these services to their parents, the wise
are praised here & now
and after death
rejoice in heaven.
– Iti 106[58, 106]
§ 125. A beginning point for ignorance – [such that one might say], ’Before
this, ignorance did not exist; then it came into play’ – cannot be discerned.
This has been said. Nevertheless, it can be discerned, ’Ignorance comes
from this condition.’ And I tell you, ignorance has its nutriment. It is not
without nutriment. And what is the nutriment for ignorance? The five
hindrances... And what is the nutriment for the five hindrances? The three
forms of misconduct... And what is the nutriment for the three forms of
misconduct? Lack of restraint of the senses... And what is the nutriment for
lack of restraint of the senses? Lack of mindfulness & alertness... And what is
the nutriment for lack of mindfulness & alertness? Inappropriate attention...
And what is the nutriment for inappropriate attention? Lack of conviction...
And what is the nutriment for lack of conviction? Not hearing the true
Dhamma... And what is the nutriment for not hearing the true Dhamma?
Associating with people who are not truly good, (or: not associating with
people who are truly good)...
Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on
the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
226 Chapter 12. Conviction
mountain clefts & rifts & gullies. When the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies
are full, they fill the little ponds. When the little ponds are full, they fill the
big lakes... the little rivers... the big rivers. When the big rivers are full,
they fill the great ocean, and thus is the great ocean fed, thus is it filled.
In the same way, when not associating with truly good people is brought to
fulfillment, it fulfills [the conditions for] not hearing the true Dhamma... lack
of conviction... inappropriate attention... lack of mindfulness & alertness...
lack of restraint of the senses... the three forms of misconduct... the five
hindrances. When the five hindrances are brought to fulfillment, they fulfill
[the conditions for] ignorance. Thus is ignorance fed, thus is it brought to
fulfillment.
Now, I tell you, clear knowing & release have their nutriment. They are
not without nutriment. And what is their nutriment? The seven factors for
Awakening... And what is the nutriment for the seven factors for Awakening?
The four frames of reference... And what is the nutriment for the four frames
of reference? The three forms of right conduct... And what is the nutriment
for the three forms of right conduct? Restraint of the senses... And what
is the nutriment for restraint of the senses? Mindfulness & alertness... And
what is the nutriment for mindfulness & alertness? Appropriate attention...
And what is the nutriment for appropriate attention? Conviction... And
what is the nutriment for conviction? Hearing the true Dhamma... And what
is the nutriment for hearing the true Dhamma? Associating with people who
are truly good...
Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on
the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
mountain clefts & rifts & gullies... the little ponds... the big lakes... the
little rivers... the big rivers. When the big rivers are full, they fill the great
ocean, and thus is the great ocean fed, thus is it filled. In the same way,
when associating with truly good people is brought to fulfillment, it fulfills
[the conditions for] hearing the true Dhamma... conviction... appropriate
attention... mindfulness & alertness... restraint of the senses... the three
forms of right conduct... the four frames of reference... the seven factors for
Awakening. When the seven factors for Awakening are brought to fulfillment,
they fulfill [the conditions for] clear knowing & release. Thus is clear knowing
& release fed, thus is it brought to fulfillment.
– AN X.61
§ 126. These are eight causes, eight conditions, for the attainment of dis-
12.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 227
cernment basic to the holy life when it has not yet been attained, and for its
growth, its increase, & for the culmination of its development when it has.
Which eight?
There is the case where a monk dwells in dependence on the Master, or
another fellow in the holy life worthy of being a teacher, under whom he
becomes firmly established in a strong sense of conscience & concern, love &
respect. This is the first cause, the first condition...
{And what is the treasure of conscience? There is the case where a dis-
ciple of the noble ones feels shame at [the thought of engaging in] bodily
misconduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct. This is called the trea-
sure of conscience.
And what is the treasure of concern? There is the case where a disciple of
the noble ones feels concern for [the suffering that results from] bodily mis-
conduct, verbal misconduct, mental misconduct. This is called the treasure
of concern.}
As he so lives, he periodically approaches his teacher to ask & inquire of
him, ’How, venerable sir, does this happen? What is the meaning of this?’
To him the teacher reveals what is hidden, clarifies what is obscure, and
dispels any doubt he may have in the various things that give him reason to
doubt. This is the second cause, the second condition...
When he has heard the Dhamma, he accomplishes twofold seclusion:
seclusion of body & seclusion of mind. This is the third cause, the third
condition...
He is virtuous & lives restrained by the Patimokkha, consummate in
his behavior & range of activity. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, he
undertakes & trains himself in the training rules. This is the fourth cause,
the fourth condition...
He is erudite, a keeper & storehouse of learning. He is erudite in the teach-
ings – admirable in their beginning, admirable in their middle, admirable in
their end – that affirm the holy life, entirely perfect & pure in its letter &
meaning; he has resolved on them, has made them familiar to his speech, has
pondered them over in his mind, and has penetrated them (attuned himself
to them) in terms of his views. This is the fifth cause, the fifth condition...
He keeps his persistence aroused for abandoning unskillful mental quali-
ties and taking on skillful mental qualities. He is steadfast, solid in his effort,
not shirking his duties with regard to skillful mental qualities. This is the
sixth cause, the sixth condition...
When he joins the Community he is not talkative, nor does he discuss low
228 Chapter 12. Conviction
topics. He either speaks Dhamma himself or asks someone else to, and he
does not despise noble silence [the second jhana]. This is the seventh cause,
the seventh condition...
Finally, he remains focused on the arising & passing away of the five
clinging-aggregates: ’Such is form, such its origination, such its disappear-
ance. Such is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such
is consciousness, such its origination, such its disappearance.’ This is the
eighth cause, the eighth condition for the attainment of discernment basic
to the holy life when it has not yet been attained, and for its growth, its
increase, & for the culmination of its development when it has.
– AN VIII.2[29] { + AN VII.6[25]}
§ 127.
Regard him as one who
points out
treasure,
the wise one who
seeing your faults
rebukes you.
Stay with this sort of sage.
For the one who stays
with a sage of this sort,
things get better,
not worse.
– DHP.76[50, 76]
§ 128. These are the five rewards of conviction in a lay person. Which five?
When the truly good people in the world show compassion, they will
first show compassion to people of conviction, and not to people without
conviction. When visiting, they first visit people of conviction, and not
people without conviction. When accepting gifts, they will first accept those
from people with conviction, and not from people without conviction. When
teaching the Dhamma, they will first teach those with conviction, and not
those without conviction. A person of conviction, on the break-up of the
body, after death, will arise in a good destination, the heavenly world. These
are the five rewards of conviction in a lay person.
Just as a large banyan tree, on level ground where four roads meet, is a
haven for the birds all around, even so a lay person of conviction is a haven
12.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 229
for many people: monks, nuns, male lay followers, & female lay followers.
A massive tree
whose branches carry fruits & leaves,
with trunks & roots
& an abundance of fruits:
There the birds find rest.
In that delightful sphere
they make their home.
Those seeking shade
come to the shade,
those seeking fruit
find fruit to eat.
So with the person consummate
in virtue & conviction,
humble, sensitive, gentle,
delightful, & mild:
To him come those without effluent –
free from passion,
free from aversion,
free from delusion –
the field of merit for the world.
They teach him the Dhamma
that dispels all stress.
And when he understands,
he is freed from effluents,
totally unbound.
– AN V.38[18]
§ 129. A female disciple of the noble ones who grows in terms of these five
types of growth grows in the noble growth, grasps hold of what is essential,
what is excellent in the body. Which five? She grows in terms of conviction,
in terms of virtue, in terms of learning, in terms of generosity, in terms of
discernment. Growing in terms of these five types of growth, the female
disciple of the noble ones grows in the noble growth, grasps hold of what is
essential, what is excellent in the body.
Growing in conviction & virtue,
discernment, generosity, & learning,
230 Chapter 12. Conviction
– SN XXXVII.34
§ 130. For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher’s message & lives to
penetrate it, it is a principle that, ’The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a
disciple. He is the one who knows, not I.’ For a disciple who has conviction
in the Teacher’s message & lives to penetrate it, the Teacher’s message is
healing & nourishing. For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher’s
message & lives to penetrate it, it is a principle that, ’Gladly would I let the
flesh & blood in my body dry up, leaving just the skin, tendons, & bones, but
if I have not attained what can be reached through human firmness, human
persistence, human striving, there will be no relaxing my persistence.’ For a
disciple who has conviction in the Teacher’s message & lives to penetrate it,
one of two fruits can be expected: either gnosis here & now, or – if there be
any remnant of clinging/sustenance – non-return.
– MN 70
Chapter 13
Persistence
231
232 Chapter 13. Persistence
Chapter 14
Mindfulness
233
234 Chapter 14. Mindfulness
Chapter 15
Concentration: Abandoning
the Hindrances
Several discourses in the Canon [such as DN 2[42]] state that the first step
in concentration practice is to abandon the five hindrances, which we have
already discussed in conjunction with the seven factors for Awakening [II/G
(Section 9)]. They are: sensual desire, ill will, sloth & drowsiness, restlessness
& anxiety, and uncertainty. These hindrances need to be abandoned because
they function as intermediate levels of the three roots of unskillfulness [§3].
Sensual desire is a form of greed; ill will, a form of aversion; and the remaining
three hindrances, forms of delusion. All five, in their various ways, block
concentration and weaken discernment by making it difficult to realize what
is beneficial for oneself, for others, or for both. This last point makes them
particularly tricky to deal with, for one needs to have a sense that they are
unbeneficial states of mind before one can work at abandoning them, yet
while one is overcome with them, they impair one’s ability to see that they
are in fact unbeneficial [§133]. For instance, when one feels sensual desire for
another person, it is hard to focus on the unattractive side of that person or
on the drawbacks of the desire itself. Similarly, when one feels anger, it is
hard not to feel that the anger is justified; when one feels sleepy, it is hard
not to feel that one should get some sleep; when one is worried, it is hard
not to believe that one needs to worry, and so forth.
Although the hindrances cannot be totally relinquished prior to the var-
ious stages of Awakening, they can be lessened on a preliminary level to the
point where the mind can settle down in jhana. This preliminary level is
the focus of the passages in this section. Passage §159 lists five methods for
235
236 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
they make one more and more skilled in cutting off the hindrances as effec-
tively as possible. The seven factors for Awakening, which are developed in
concentration, act as direct antidotes to the hindrances [§76], while discern-
ment – combined with concentrated mindfulness – helps in mastering what
is probably the most effective tool for not being fooled by the hindrances:
the ability to separate the hindrance, as an act of the mind, from its object.
For instance, discernment makes one able to see the feeling of sensual desire
as one thing, and the object of the desire as something separate. This ability
is crucial in a number of ways. To begin with, it helps separate the positive
qualities of the object from the act of desiring the object, so that one does
not confuse the two. The tendency to confuse the two is what makes it hard
to see the drawbacks of the desire when it is present in the mind, and at
the same time, serves to harden the mind in general against the Buddha’s
admonishments against sensuality.
There is a widespread feeling that Buddhism gives an unfair valuation of
sensuality and is blind to the positive beauties of sensual objects, but this
is simply not true. The Buddha admitted that sensual objects have their
beauty and can give a measure of satisfaction [MN 13[70]]. He pointed out,
however, that the beauty of an object is not the whole story, for all beautiful
objects must decay. If one’s happiness is based on them, that happiness
is in for a fall. More importantly, though, the Buddha defined sensuality
not as the objects of the senses, but as the passion and delight that one
feels for such objects [AN VI.63[24]; MFU, p. 53[148, p53]]. Although the
objects of the senses are neither good nor evil per se, the act of passion
and delight forms a bond on the mind, disturbing its immediate peace and
ensuring its continued entrapment in the round of rebirth and redeath. Only
by separating the desire from its object can one directly perceive the truth
of these teachings.
This point applies to the other hindrances as well. For instance, when
one can separate the object of one’s anger from the anger itself as a mental
event, one can see the obvious drawbacks of allowing anger to take over the
mind.
In addition, the ability to separate the act from its object enables one to
become sensitive to the act before it becomes overpowering, at the same time
allowing one to regard it simply as a mental quality in and of itself. One can
then engage in the practice outlined in §30 – that of observing the coming and
going of the hindrances as one tries to bring the mind to concentration. In this
way, one eventually becomes so familiar with the patterns underlying their
238 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
occurrence that one can undercut them and eliminate them from the mind for
good. Passage §137 gives an example of one of the patterns that one will see
when sensual desire arises: sexual attraction for another person begins with
a sense of attraction for one’s own sexuality. Passage §96, in a more abstract
fashion, lists other patterns of mind that feed the hindrances. By perceiving
such patterns, one can take one’s analysis of the roots of unskillfulness in the
mind to ever more subtle levels. In this way, the skill of being able to abandon
the hindrances will go beyond simply the preliminary level of concentration
practice, exercising all five of the faculties to the point where they issue in
Awakening.
benefit of both...
Now imagine a bowl of water ruffled by the wind, disturbed, & covered
with waves, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of
his face in it would not be able to know or see his face as it actually is. In
the same way, when one remains with awareness possessed by restlessness
& anxiety, overcome with restlessness & anxiety, and neither knows nor sees
the escape, as it is actually present, from restlessness & anxiety once it has
arisen, then one neither knows nor sees what is for one’s own benefit, or for
the benefit of others, or for the benefit of both...
Now imagine a bowl of water stirred up, turbid, muddied, & left in the
dark, such that a man with good eyesight examining the reflection of his face
in it would not be able to know or see his face as it actually is. In the same
way, when one remains with awareness possessed by uncertainty, overcome
with uncertainty, and neither knows nor sees the escape, as it is actually
present, from uncertainty once it has arisen, then one neither knows nor sees
what is for one’s own benefit, or for the benefit of others, or for the benefit
of both...
– SN XLVI.55
§ 134. Suppose that a man, taking a loan, invests it in his business affairs.
His business affairs succeed. He repays his old debts and there is extra left
over for maintaining his wife. The thought would occur to him, ’Before,
taking a loan, I invested it in my business affairs. Now my business affairs
have succeeded. I have repaid my old debts and there is extra left over for
maintaining my wife.’ Because of that he would experience joy & happiness.
Now suppose that a man falls sick – in pain & seriously ill. He does
not enjoy his meals, and there is no strength in his body. As time passes,
he eventually recovers from that sickness. He enjoys his meals and there
is strength in his body. The thought would occur to him, ’Before, I was
sick... Now I am recovered from that sickness. I enjoy my meals and there is
strength in my body.’ Because of that he would experience joy & happiness.
Now suppose that a man is bound in prison. As time passes, he eventually
is released from that bondage, safe & sound, with no loss of property. The
thought would occur to him, ’Before, I was bound in prison. Now I am
released from that bondage, safe & sound, with no loss of my property.’
Because of that he would experience joy & happiness.
Now suppose that a man is a slave, subject to others, not subject to
himself, unable to go where he likes. As time passes, he eventually is released
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 241
from that slavery, subject to himself, not subject to others, freed, able to go
where he likes. The thought would occur to him, ’Before, I was a slave...
Now I am released from that slavery, subject to myself, not subject to others,
freed, able to go where I like.’ Because of that he would experience joy &
happiness.
Now suppose that a man, carrying money & goods, is traveling by a
road through desolate country. As time passes, he eventually emerges from
that desolate country, safe & sound, with no loss of property. The thought
would occur to him, ’Before, carrying money & goods, I was traveling by
a road through desolate country. Now I have emerged from that desolate
country, safe & sound, with no loss of my property.’ Because of that he
would experience joy & happiness.
In the same way, when these five hindrances are not abandoned in himself,
the monk regards it as a debt, a sickness, a prison, slavery, a road through
desolate country. But when these five hindrances are abandoned in himself,
he regards it as unindebtedness, good health, release from prison, freedom,
a place of security.
– MN 39
§ 135. Sensual desire. I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One
was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Now
on that occasion the Blessed One was sitting out in the open in the pitch
black of the night, while oil lamps were burning. Many flying insects were
meeting their downfall & misfortune in those oil lamps. Seeing this... the
Blessed One exclaimed,
– Ud VI.9[64]
§ 136.
– Ud VII.3[65]
§ 137. I will teach you a Dhamma discourse on bondage & lack of bondage...
A woman attends inwardly to her feminine faculties, her feminine gestures,
her feminine manners, feminine poise, feminine desires, feminine voice, fem-
inine charms. She is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited &
delighted by that, she attends outwardly to masculine faculties, masculine
gestures, masculine manners, masculine poise, masculine desires, masculine
voices, masculine charms. She is excited by that, delighted by that... wants
to be bonded to what is outside her, wants whatever pleasure & happiness
that arise based on that bond. Delighting, caught up in her femininity, a
woman goes into bondage with reference to men. This is how a woman does
not transcend her femininity.
A man attends inwardly to his masculine faculties, masculine gestures,
masculine manners, masculine poise, masculine desires, masculine voice, mas-
culine charms. He is excited by that, delighted by that. Being excited &
delighted by that, he attends outwardly to feminine faculties, feminine ges-
tures, feminine manners, feminine poise, feminine desires, feminine voices,
feminine charms. He is excited by that, delighted by that... wants to be
bonded to what is outside him, wants whatever pleasure & happiness that
arise based on that bond. Delighting, caught up in his masculinity, a man
goes into bondage with reference to women. This is how a man does not
transcend his masculinity.
And how is there lack of bondage? A woman does not attend inwardly
to her feminine faculties... feminine charms. She is not excited by that, not
delighted by that... does not attend outwardly to masculine faculties... mas-
culine charms. She is not excited by that, not delighted by that... does not
want to be bonded to what is outside her, does not want whatever pleasure
& happiness that arise based on that bond. Not delighting, not caught up
in her femininity, a woman does not go into bondage with reference to men.
This is how a woman transcends her femininity.
A man does not attend inwardly to his masculine faculties... masculine
charms. He is not excited by that, not delighted by that... does not attend
outwardly to feminine faculties... feminine charms. He is not excited by
that, not delighted by that... does not want to be bonded to what is outside
him, does not want whatever pleasure & happiness that arise based on that
bond. Not delighting, not caught up in his masculinity, a man does not go
into bondage with reference to women. This is how a man transcends his
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 243
masculinity.
This is how there is lack of bondage. And this is the Dhamma discourse
on bondage & lack of bondage.
– AN VII.48[26]
§ 138. ’Suppose a dog, overcome with weakness & hunger, were to come
across a slaughterhouse, and there a skilled butcher or butcher’s apprentice
were to fling him a chain of bones – thoroughly scraped, without any flesh,
smeared with blood. What do you think: Would the dog, gnawing on that
chain of bones – thoroughly scraped, without any flesh, smeared with blood
– appease his weakness & hunger?’
’No, lord. And why is that? Because the chain of bones is thoroughly
scraped, without any flesh, & smeared with blood. The dog would get nothing
but weariness & vexation.’
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers this
point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to a chain of bones, of
much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”. Seeing this with right
discernment, as it actually is, then avoiding the equanimity coming from
multiplicity, dependent on multiplicity, he develops the equanimity coming
from singleness, dependent on singleness [III/G (Section 17.1)], where cling-
ing/sustenance for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
’Now suppose a vulture, a kite, or a hawk were to take off, having seized
a lump of flesh, and other vultures, kites, or hawks – following right after it
– were to tear at it & pull at it. What do you think: If that vulture, kite, or
hawk were not quickly to drop that lump of flesh, would it meet with death
from that cause, or with death-like pain?’
’Yes, lord.’
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers this
point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to a lump of flesh, of much
stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”... He develops the equanimity
coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, where clinging/sustenance
for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
’Now suppose a man were to come against the wind, carrying a burning
grass torch. What do you think: If he were not quickly to drop that grass
torch, would he burn his hand or his arm or some other part of his body, so
that he would meet with death from that cause, or with death-like pain?’
’Yes, lord.’
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers this
244 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to a grass torch, of much
stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”... He develops the equanimity
coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, where clinging/sustenance
for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
’Now suppose there were a pit of glowing embers, deeper than a man’s
height, full of embers that were neither flaming nor smoking, and a man were
to come along – loving life, hating death, loving pleasure, abhorring pain –
and two strong men, having grabbed him with their arms, were to drag him
to the pit of embers. What do you think: Wouldn’t the man twist his body
this way & that?’
’Yes, lord.’ And why is that? Because he would realize, “If I fall into
this pit of glowing embers, I will meet with death from that cause, or with
death-like pain.”
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers this
point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to a pit of glowing em-
bers, of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”... He develops the
equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, where cling-
ing/sustenance for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
’Now suppose a man, when dreaming, were to see delightful parks, de-
lightful forests, delightful stretches of land, & delightful lakes, and on awak-
ening were to see nothing. In the same way, householder, a disciple of the
noble ones considers this point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality
to a dream, of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”... He devel-
ops the equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, where
clinging/sustenance for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
’Now suppose a man having borrowed some goods – a manly carriage, fine
jewels, & ear ornaments – were to go into the market preceded & surrounded
by his borrowed goods, and people seeing him would say, “How wealthy is
this man, for this is how the wealthy enjoy their possessions,” but the actual
owners, wherever they might see him, would strip him then & there of what
is theirs. What do you think: Should the man rightly be surprised?’
’No, lord. And why is that? The owners are stripping him of what is
theirs.’
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers
this point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to borrowed goods,
of much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks”... He develops the
equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness, where cling-
ing/sustenance for the baits of the world ceases entirely.
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 245
’Now suppose that, not far from a village or town, there were a dense
forest grove, and there in the grove was a tree with delicious fruit, abundant
fruit, but with no fruit fallen to the ground. A man would come along,
desiring fruit, looking for fruit, searching for fruit. Plunging into the forest
grove, he would see the tree... and the thought would occur to him, “This
is a tree with delicious fruit, abundant fruit, and there is no fruit fallen to
the ground, but I know how to climb a tree. Why don’t I climb the tree, eat
what I like, and fill my clothes with the fruit?” So, having climbed the tree,
he would eat what he liked and fill his clothes with the fruit. Then a second
man would come along, desiring fruit... searching for fruit and carrying a
sharp ax. Plunging into the forest grove, he would see the tree... and the
thought would occur to him, “... I don’t know how to climb a tree. Why
don’t I chop down this tree at the root, eat what I like, and fill my clothes
with the fruit?” So he would chop the tree at the root. What do you think:
If the first man who climbed the tree didn’t quickly come down, wouldn’t
the falling tree crush his hand or foot or some other part of his body, so that
he would meet with death from that cause, or with death-like pain?’
’Yes, lord.’
’In the same way, householder, a disciple of the noble ones considers this
point: “The Blessed One has compared sensuality to the fruits of a tree, of
much stress, much despair, & greater drawbacks.” Seeing this with right dis-
cernment, as it actually is present, then avoiding the equanimity coming from
multiplicity, dependent on multiplicity, he develops the equanimity coming
from singleness, dependent on singleness, where clinging/sustenance for the
baits of the world ceases entirely.
– MN 54[76]
§ 139. The Buddha: Magandiya, suppose that there was a leper covered with
sores and infections, devoured by worms, picking the scabs off the openings of
his wounds with his nails, cauterizing his body over a pit of glowing embers.
Then suppose his friends, companions, & relatives brought a doctor to treat
him. The doctor would concoct medicine, and by means of that medicine he
would be cured of his leprosy: well & happy, free, master of himself, going
wherever he liked. Then suppose two strong men, having seized hold of him
with their arms, were to drag him to a pit of glowing embers. What do you
think? Wouldn’t he twist his body this way and that?
Magandiya: Yes, lord. Why is that? The fire is painful to the touch, very
hot & scorching.
246 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
The Buddha: Now what do you think? Is the fire painful to the touch,
very hot & scorching, only now, or was it also that way before?
Magandiya: Both now & before is it painful to the touch, very hot &
scorching. It’s just that when the man was a leper... his faculties were
impaired, which was why, even though the fire was actually painful to the
touch, he had the skewed perception of ’pleasant.’
The Buddha: In the same way, sensual pleasures in the past were painful
to the touch, very hot & scorching; sensual pleasures in the future will be
painful to the touch, very hot & scorching; sensual pleasures at present are
painful to the touch, very hot & scorching; but when beings are not free
from passion for sensual pleasures – devoured by sensual craving, burning
with sensual fever – their faculties are impaired, which is why, even though
sensual pleasures are actually painful to the touch, they have the skewed
perception of ’pleasant.’
Now suppose that there was a leper covered with sores & infections, de-
voured by worms, picking the scabs off the openings of his wounds with
his nails, cauterizing his body over a pit of glowing embers. The more he
cauterized his body over the pit of glowing embers, the more disgusting,
foul-smelling, & putrid the openings of his wounds would become, and yet
he would feel a modicum of enjoyment & satisfaction because of the itchi-
ness of his wounds. In the same way, beings not free from passion for sensual
pleasures – devoured by sensual craving, burning with sensual fever – indulge
in sensual pleasures. The more they indulge in sensual pleasures, the more
their sensual craving increases and the more they burn with sensual fever,
and yet they feel a modicum of enjoyment & satisfaction dependent on the
five strings of sensuality.
Now what do you think? Have you ever seen or heard of a king or king’s
minister – enjoying himself, provided & endowed with the five strings of
sensuality, without abandoning sensual craving, without removing sensual
fever – who has dwelt or will dwell or is dwelling free from thirst, his mind
inwardly at peace?
Magandiya: No, Master Gotama.
The Buddha: Very good, Magandiya. Neither have I... But whatever
priests or contemplatives who have dwelt or will dwell or are dwelling free
from thirst, their minds inwardly at peace, all have done so having realized
– as it actually is present – the origination & disappearance, the allure,
the danger, & the escape from sensual pleasures, having abandoned sensual
craving and removed sensual fever.
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 247
– MN 75[80]
§ 140.
– DHP.186-87[52, 186]
§ 142. As Subha the nun was going through Jivaka’s delightful mango grove,
a libertine [a goldsmith’s son] blocked her path, so she said to him:
good will for that individual. Thus the hatred for that individual should be
subdued.
When one gives birth to hatred for an individual, one should develop
compassion for that individual... equanimity toward that individual... one
should pay him no mind & pay him no attention... When one gives birth
to hatred for an individual, one should direct one’s thoughts to the fact of
his being the product of his kamma: ’This venerable one is the doer of his
kamma, heir of his kamma, born of his kamma, related by his kamma, and is
dependent on his kamma. Whatever kamma he does, for good or for evil, to
that will he fall heir.’ Thus the hatred for that individual should be subdued.
These are five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in
a monk, he should wipe it out completely.
– AN V.161[21]
§ 144.Sariputta: There are some people who are impure in their bodily
behavior but pure in their verbal behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort
should be subdued.
There are some people who are impure in their verbal behavior but pure
in their bodily behavior. Hatred for a person of this sort should also be
subdued.
There are some people who are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal
behavior, but who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred for
a person of this sort should also be subdued.
There are some people who are impure in their bodily behavior & verbal
behavior, and who do not periodically experience mental clarity & calm.
Hatred for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
There are some people who are pure in their bodily behavior & their ver-
bal behavior, and who periodically experience mental clarity & calm. Hatred
for a person of this sort should also be subdued.
Now as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his
verbal behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when a monk
who makes use of things that are thrown away sees a rag in the road: Taking
hold of it with his left foot and spreading it out with his right, he would tear
off the sound part and go off with it. In the same way, when the individual
is impure in his bodily behavior but pure in his verbal behavior, one should
at that time pay no attention to the impurity of his bodily behavior, and
instead pay attention to the purity of his verbal behavior. Thus the hatred
for him should be subdued.
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 253
And as for a person who is impure in his verbal behavior, but pure in his
bodily behavior, how should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there
is a pool overgrown with slime & water plants, and a person comes along,
burning with heat, covered with sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. He
would jump into the pool, part the slime & water plants with both hands,
and then, cupping his hands, drink the water and go on his way. In the same
way, when the individual is impure in his verbal behavior but pure in his
bodily behavior, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity
of his verbal behavior, and instead pay attention to the purity of his bodily
behavior. Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal be-
havior, but who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should
one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a little puddle in a cow’s
footprint, and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with sweat,
exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. The thought would occur to him, ’Here is
this little puddle in a cow’s footprint. If I tried to drink the water using my
hand or cup, I would disturb it, stir it up, & make it unfit to drink. What
if I were to get down on all fours and slurp it up like a cow, and then go on
my way?’ So he would get down on all fours, slurp up the water like a cow,
and then go on his way. In the same way, when an individual is impure in
his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, but periodically experiences mental
clarity & calm, one should at that time pay no attention to the impurity of
his bodily behavior... the impurity of his verbal behavior, and instead pay
attention to the fact that he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm.
Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
And as for a person who is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal be-
havior, and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, how
should one subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a sick man – in
pain, seriously ill – traveling along a road, far from the next village & far
from the last, unable to get the food he needs, unable to get the medicine he
needs, unable to get a suitable assistant, unable to get anyone to take him
to human habitation. Now suppose another person were to see him coming
along the road. He would do what he could out of compassion, pity, & sym-
pathy for the man, thinking, ’O that this man should get the food he needs,
the medicine he needs, a suitable assistant, someone to take him to human
habitation. Why is that? So that he won’t fall into ruin right here.’ In the
same way, when a person is impure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior,
and who does not periodically experience mental clarity & calm, one should
254 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
do what one can out of compassion, pity, & sympathy for him, thinking, ’O
that this man should abandon wrong bodily conduct and develop right bodily
conduct, abandon wrong verbal conduct and develop right verbal conduct,
abandon wrong mental conduct and develop right mental conduct. Why is
that? So that, on the break-up of the body, after death, he won’t fall into
the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, purgatory.’
Thus the hatred for him should be subdued.
And as for a person who is pure in his bodily behavior & verbal behavior,
and who periodically experiences mental clarity & calm, how should one
subdue hatred for him? Just as when there is a pool of clear water – sweet,
cool, & limpid, with gently sloping banks, & shaded on all sides by trees
of many kinds – and a person comes along, burning with heat, covered with
sweat, exhausted, trembling, & thirsty. Having plunged into the pool, having
bathed & drunk & come back out, he would sit down or lie down right there
in the shade of the trees. In the same way, when an individual is pure in
his bodily behavior & verbal behavior, and periodically experiences mental
clarity & calm, one should at that time pay attention to the purity of his
bodily behavior... the purity of his verbal behavior, and to the fact that
he periodically experiences mental clarity & calm. Thus the hatred for him
should be subdued. An entirely inspiring individual can make the mind grow
serene.
These are five ways of subduing hatred by which, when hatred arises in
a monk, he should wipe it out completely.
– AN V.161[21]
§ 145. There are these ten ways of subduing hatred. Which ten? 1) Think-
ing, ’He has done me harm. But what should I expect?’ one subdues hatred.
2) Thinking, ’He is doing me harm. But what should I expect?... 3) He is
going to do me harm. But what should I expect?... 4) He has done harm to
people who are dear & pleasing to me. But what should I expect?... 5) He
is doing harm to people who are dear & pleasing to me. But what should I
expect?... 6) He is going to do harm to people who are dear & pleasing to
me. But what should I expect?... 7) He has aided people who are not dear or
pleasing to me. But what should I expect?... 8) He is aiding people who are
not dear or pleasing to me. But what should I expect?... 9) He is going to
aid people who are not dear or pleasing to me. But what should I expect?’
one subdues hatred. 10) One does not get worked up over impossibilities.
These are ten ways of subduing hatred.
15.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 255
– AN X.80[37]
§ 146.
– DHP.3-5[48, 3]
§ 147. Sloth & drowsiness. Once the Blessed One was living among the
Bhaggas in the Deer Park at Bhesakala Grove, near Crocodile Haunt. At
that time Ven. Maha Moggallana [prior to his Awakening] sat nodding near
the village of Kallavalaputta, in Magadha. The Blessed One saw this with
his purified divine eye, surpassing the human, and as soon as he saw this –
just as a strong man might extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm
– disappeared from the Deer Park... appeared right in front of Ven. Maha
Moggallana, and sat down on a prepared seat. As he was sitting there, the
Blessed One said to Ven. Maha Moggallana, ’Are you nodding, Moggallana?
Are you nodding?’
’Yes, lord.’
’Well then, Moggallana, whatever perception you have in mind when
drowsiness descends on you, don’t attend to that perception, don’t pursue
it. It’s possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
256 Chapter 15. Concentration: Abandoning the Hindrances
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then recall to
your awareness the Dhamma as you have heard & memorized it, re-examine
it & ponder it over in your mind. It’s possible that by doing this you will
shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then repeat
aloud in detail the Dhamma as you have heard & memorized it. It’s possible
that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then pull both
your earlobes and rub your limbs with your hands. It’s possible that by doing
this you will shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then get up
from your seat and, after washing your eyes out with water, look around in
all directions and upward to the major stars & constellations. It’s possible
that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then attend to
the perception of light, resolve on the perception of daytime, [dwelling] by
night as by day, and by day as by night. By means of an awareness thus
open & unhampered, develop a brightened mind [§66]. It’s possible that by
doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then – percipient
of what lies in front & behind – set a distance to meditate walking back &
forth, your senses inwardly immersed, your mind not straying outwards. It’s
possible that by doing this you will shake off your drowsiness.
’But if by doing this you don’t shake off your drowsiness, then – reclining
on your right side – take up the lion’s posture, one foot placed on top of the
other, mindful, alert, with your mind set on getting up. As soon as you wake
up, get up quickly, with the thought, "I won’t stay indulging in the pleasure
of lying down, the pleasure of reclining, the pleasure of drowsiness."
’Thus, Moggallana, should you train yourself...’
– AN VII.58[27]
Chapter 16
Right Concentration
The passages in this section deal with right concentration in terms of three
questions that deserve appropriate attention:
• How is it mastered?
257
258 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
MFU, pp. 82-85[148, p82]], culminating in the fourth jhana where one’s
body is filled with a bright sense of awareness. This sense of expansion and
making-single is also indicated in passages that teach specific meditation
techniques. The directions for keeping the breath in mind, for instance, state
that one should be sensitive to the entire body while breathing in and out.
This accounts for the term "mahaggata" – enlarged or expanded – used to
describe the mind in the state of jhana.
There are two basic types of jhana, which the commentaries term "form
jhana" (rupa jhana) and "formless jhana" (arupa jhana). Each type has
several levels. In the case of form jhana, different passages in the Canon
list the levels in different ways. The differences revolve around two different
senses of the word "form." In one sense, "form" denotes the body, and form
jhana is a state of mental absorption in the form of one’s own physical body,
as sensed from within. Jhana focused on this type of form comes in four
levels, identical with the four levels mentioned in the definition of the faculty
of concentration [§72] and of right concentration under the noble eightfold
path [§102]. In another sense, "form" can also denote the visible forms and
light that some meditators can see in the mind’s eye in the course of their
meditation. This type of form jhana is analyzed into two patterns, one with
two levels [§164], the other with three [§163]. Both patterns end with the
perception of the "beautiful," which in terms of its function is equivalent
to the sense of radiance filling the body on the fourth level of "body form"
jhana.
For a person practicing form jhana in either sense of the term, the equa-
nimity experienced with the sense of beautiful radiance can then act as
the basis for the formless levels of jhana, which the Canon terms the four
"formlessnesses beyond form." These are invariably defined as progressive
absorption in the perceptions of "infinite space," "infinite consciousness,"
and "there is nothing," leading to a fourth state of neither perception nor
non-perception.
As for the second question, on how to master right concentration: Pas-
sage §154 notes that the ability to attain the first level of jhana – however one
experiences the "form" acting as its focus – depends on the abandoning of the
hindrances, because the feeling of freedom that comes with their abandoning
provides the sense of joy and pleasure that lets the mind settle skillfully in
the present moment. How to master this process is best shown by follow-
ing the Buddha’s most detailed set of meditation instructions – the sixteen
steps in the practice of keeping the breath in mind [§151] – and comparing
259
them with the standard description of the four stages of jhana [§§149-150].
Before we analyze these maps of the practice, however, we must make a few
comments on how to use them skillfully.
To begin with, internal obstacles to the practice of jhana do not end with
the preliminary ground-clearing of the hindrances discussed in the preceding
section. More refined levels of unskillful mental states can get in the way
[§§160-61]. Lapses in mindfulness and alertness can leave openings for the
hindrances to return. Thus, although the maps of the various stages of
concentration proceed in a smooth, seemingly inevitable progression, the
actual experience of the practice does not. For this reason, the Buddha gives
specific instructions on how to deal with these obstacles as they arise in the
course of the practice. Passage §159 lists five basic approaches, the first two of
which we have already covered in the preceding section. The remaining three
are: 1) One ignores the obstacles. This works on the principle that paying
attention to the distraction feeds the distraction, just as paying attention to a
crazy person – even if one is simply trying to drive him away – encourages him
to stay. 2) One notices that the act of thinking a distracting thought actually
takes more energy than not thinking the thought, and one consciously relaxes
whatever tension or energy happens to accompany it. This approach works
best when one is sensitive enough to bodily sensations to see the pattern
of physical tension that appears in conjunction with the thought, and can
intentionally relax it. 3) The approach of last resort is simply to exert force
on the mind to drive out the distracting thought. This is a temporary stopgap
measure that works only as long as mindfulness is firm and determination
strong. It is useful in cases where discernment is not yet sharp enough to
make the other approaches work, but once discernment is up to the task, the
other approaches are more effective in the long run.
Another point to keep in mind in understanding the maps of the practice
is that they list the steps of meditation, not in the order in which they will
be experienced, but in the order in which they can be mastered. There are
cases, for instance, where one will feel rapture in the course of the practice
(step 5 in the practice of breath meditation) before one is able to breath in
and out sensitive to the entire body (step 3). In such cases, it is important
not to jump to any conclusions as to one’s level of attainment, or to feel
that one has bypassed the need to master an earlier step. Instead – when
several different experiences arise together in a jumble, as they often do –
one should use the maps to tell which experience to focus on first for the sake
of developing one’s meditation as a skill.
260 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
One qualification here is that it is not necessary to master all the levels of
concentration in order to gain Awakening. The relationship of concentration
to discernment is a controversial issue, which we will cover in the following
section, but here we may simply note that many texts [§§173-74] point out
that the experience of the first jhana can be a sufficient basis for the discern-
ment leading to Awakening. The same holds true for the first four steps in
breath meditation, which constitute one of the alternative ways of develop-
ing the body in and of itself as a frame of reference [§30]. In this case, one’s
practice of breath meditation would jump from a mastery of step 4 straight
to step 13, skipping the intervening steps. In fact, beginning with step 4, it
is possible to jump directly to 13 from any of the steps, and from there to
progress all the way to Awakening.
The fact that the higher stages are unnecessary in some cases, however,
does not mean that they are superfluous. Many people, as they develop the
skill of their meditation, will find that their minds naturally go to deeper
levels of stillness with no liberating insight arising. For them, the maps are
valuable aids for a number of reasons. To begin with, the maps can help
indicate what does and does not count as Awakening. When one arrives
at a new, more refined level of awareness in one’s practice, it is easy to
assume that one has attained the goal. Comparing one’s experience to the
maps, however, can show that the experience is simply a higher level of
concentration. Furthermore, awareness of the distinct levels can help one
review them after attaining them, so that in the course of trying to master
them, moving from one level to another, one can begin to gain insight into
the element of will and fabrication that goes into them. This insight can then
provide an understanding into the pattern of cause and effect in the mind
and, as passage §182 shows, can lead to a sense of dispassion and ultimately
to Awakening.
However, the maps should not be used to plan one’s practice in advance.
This is the message of §162, which makes the point that one should not try
to use one’s knowledge of the various levels of the practice to force one’s way
through them. In other words, one should not try to concoct a particular
state of jhana based on ideas picked up from the maps. On reaching a
particular level, one should not be in a hurry to go to the next. Instead, one
should familiarize oneself with that level of mind, perfecting one’s mastery;
eventually that state of concentration will ripen naturally into the next level.
To continue the image of the passage, one will find that there is no need to
jump to another pasture to taste different grass and water, for the new grass
261
the different factors from which it can be released by taking it through the
different levels of jhana – for example, releasing it from rapture by taking it
from the second level to the third, and so forth [§175]. One comes to see that,
although the breath feels different on the different levels of jhana, the cause
is not so much the breath as it is the way the mind relates to the breath,
shedding the various mental activities surrounding its single preoccupation.
As one ascends through the various levels, directed thought and evaluation
are stilled, rapture fades, and pleasure is abandoned. Another way of con-
solidating one’s skills in the course of these steps is to examine the subtle
defilements that interfere with full mastery of concentration. The fact that
one’s focus is now on the mind makes it possible to see these defilements
clearly, and then to steady the mind even further by releasing it from them.
Passage §161, although aimed specifically at the problems faced by those
who have visions in their meditation, gives a useful checklist of subtle mental
defilements that can hamper the concentration of any meditator. The image
of grasping the quail neither too loosely nor too tight has become a standard
one in Buddhist meditation manuals.
The mastery of concentration developed in steps 9-12 provides an excel-
lent chance to develop discernment into the pattern of cause and effect in the
process of concentrating the mind, in that one must master the causal factors
before one can gain the desired results in terms of satisfaction, steadiness,
and release. Here we see at work the basic pattern of skillfulness mentioned
in several earlier sections: that discernment is sharpened and strengthened
by employing it in developing the skills of concentration. This would cor-
respond to the second level of frames-of-reference meditation – focusing on
the phenomenon of origination and passing away – mentioned in II/B (Sec-
tion 4.1).
Another development that can happen during these steps – although this
takes one outside of the practice of breath meditation per se – is the dis-
covery of how the equanimity developed in the fourth jhana can be applied
to other refined objects of the mind. These are the four formless jhanas:
the dimension of the infinitude of space, the dimension of the infinitude of
consciousness, the dimension of nothingness, and the dimension of neither
perception nor non-perception. These states may sound impossibly abstract,
but in actual practice they grow directly from the way the mind relates to
the still sense of the body in the fourth jhana. The first stage comes when
the mind consciously ignores its perception (mental label) of the form of the
body, attending instead to the remaining sense of space that surrounds and
264 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
pervades that form; the second stage comes when the mind sheds its percep-
tion of "space," leaving a limitless sense of awareness; the third, when it lets
go of its perception or mental label of "awareness," leaving a perception of
inactivity; and the fourth, when it sheds the perception of that lack of activ-
ity. What is left is a state where perception is so refined that it can hardly
be called perception at all, even though it is still there. As one masters these
steps, one sees that whereas the first four levels of jhana differ in the type of
activity the mind focuses on its one object, the four formless jhanas differ in
their objects, as one level of mental labeling falls away to be replaced by a
more subtle one.
Passages §162 and §164 list one more meditative attainment beyond the
dimension of neither perception nor non-perception – the cessation of feeling
and perception – but this is qualitatively different from the others, in that
a meditator cannot attain it without at the same time awakening to the
level of at least non-returning. The reason behind this is related, once more,
to the factor of "fabrication" (sankhara) in dependent co-arising [§218]. In
the course of mastering the levels of jhana, verbal fabrication grows still as
one enters the second jhana; bodily fabrication, as one enters the fourth;
and mental fabrication, as one enters this last stage. For all three types
of fabrication to stop, however, ignorance – the condition for fabrication –
must stop as well, and this can happen only with the insight that leads to
Awakening.
We have come to the end of the list of the stages of mastery in meditative
attainment, but four steps in breath meditation remain unexplained. This is
because, aside from the ninth level of attainment, the stages of mastery can all
be attained without developing the discernment that constitutes Awakening,
while the last four steps in breath meditation deal specifically with giving
rise to that discernment. This brings us to the third question that was
broached at the beginning of this introduction: how right concentration can
be put to use.
Passage §149 lists four possible uses for concentration:
The first use is the simple enjoyment of the experience of jhana; the second
relates to the first five supranormal powers [II/D (Section 6.1)]. The third
relates to the development of the frames of reference [II/B (Section 4.1)];
and the fourth, to the discernment that constitutes Awakening. We have
already discussed the second and third uses of concentration in the passages
just cited in brackets. This leaves us with the first and fourth.
The Canon [MN 138[94]; MFU, pp. 114-15[149, p113]] notes that medita-
tors can become "chained and fettered" to the attractions of the pleasure to
be found in jhana. As a result, many meditators are afraid to let their minds
settle into blissfully still states, for fear of becoming stuck. The Canon, how-
ever, never once states that stream-entry can be attained without at least
some experience in jhana; and it states explicitly [AN III.88[6]; MFU, p.
103[149, p103]] that the attainment of non-returning requires a mastery of
concentration. MN 36[74] relates that the turning point in the Buddha’s own
practice – when he abandoned the path of self-affliction and turned to the
middle way – hinged on his realization that there is nothing blameworthy in
the pleasure to be found in jhana. Thus, there is nothing to fear.
This pleasure plays an important function in the practice. To begin with,
it enables the mind to stay comfortably in the present moment, helping
it attain the stability it needs for gaining insight. This can be compared
to a scientific experiment, in which the measuring equipment needs to be
absolutely steady in order to give reliable readings. Secondly, because a
great deal of sensitivity is required to "tune" the mind to the refined pleasure
of jhana, the practice serves to increase one’s sensitivity, making one more
acutely aware of even the most refined levels of stress as well. Thirdly,
because the pleasure and equanimity of jhana are more exquisite than sensory
pleasures, and because they exist independently of the five senses, they can
enable the mind to become less involved in sensory pleasures and less inclined
to search for emotional satisfaction from them. In this sense, the skillful
pleasures of jhana can act as a fulcrum for prying loose one’s attachments to
the less skillful pleasures of sensuality. The fact that fully mature mastery of
jhana brings about the attainment of non-returning, the preliminary level of
Awakening where sensual passion is abandoned, shows the necessary role that
jhana plays in letting go of this particular defilement. Finally, the pleasure
of jhana provides a place of rest and rehabilitation along the path when the
mind’s powers of discernment become dulled or it must be coaxed into the
proper mood to accept some of the harsher lessons that it needs to learn in
order to abandon its cravings. Just as a person who is well-fed and rested is
266 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
more open to receiving criticism than when he is tired and hungry, the mind
is often more willing to admit its own foolishness and lack of skill when it is
nourished by the pleasure of jhana than when it is not.
Thus, although the pleasure of jhana can become an obstacle if treated
as an end in itself, there are phases of the practice where the pursuit of this
form of pleasure is a useful strategy toward the fourth use of concentration:
the ending of the mental effluents. This fourth use is the topic of the next
section, but here we can simply note that it is related to the fifth factor of
noble right concentration mentioned in §150. As the simile illustrating it
suggests – with the standing person reflecting on the person sitting down –
this factor is a pulling back or a lifting of the mind above the object of its
absorption, without at the same time disturbing the absorption. This factor
corresponds to steps 9 through 12 in the guide to breath meditation, in that
one is able to focus on the way the mind relates to its object at the same time
that the mind is actually in a state of concentration. Passage §172 shows
that this factor can be applied to any level of jhana except for the states of
neither perception nor non-perception and the cessation of perception and
feeling. As for those two states, one can reflect on their component factors
only after leaving them. With the other states, one stays with the object, but
one’s prime focus is on the mind. One sees the various mental events that go
into maintaining that state of concentration, and as one contemplates these
events, one becomes struck by how inconstant they are, how fabricated and
willed. This provides insight into how the present aspect of kamma – one’s
present intentions – shape one’s present experience. It also gives insight into
the general pattern of cause and effect in the mind.
Focusing on the inconstancy and unreliability of the factors in this pattern
gives rise to the realization that they are also stressful and not-self: neither
"me" nor "mine," but simply instances of the first noble truth [III/H/i (Sec-
tion 19.1)]. When this realization goes straight to the heart, there comes a
sense of dispassion for any craving directed at them (the second noble truth)
and an experience of their fading and cessation (the third). Finally, one re-
linquishes attachment not only to these events, but also to the discernment
that sees through to their true nature (the fourth). This completes steps 13
through 16 in the guide to breath meditation, at the same time bringing the
seven factors for Awakening to completion in a state "dependent on seclu-
sion... dispassion... cessation, resulting in letting go [§93]," where "letting
go" would appear to be equivalent to the "relinquishment" in step 16. When
one can simply experience the act of relinquishment, without feeling that one
16.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 267
is "doing" the relinquishing, one passes through the third stage of frames-of-
reference meditation to the state of non-fashioning [§§179, 183], which forms
the threshold to release.
Even after attaining release, the Arahant continues to practice medita-
tion, although now that the effluents are ended, the concentration is not
needed to put them to an end. MN 107[82] mentions that Arahants practice
concentration both for the sake of a pleasant abiding in the here and now, and
for mindfulness and alertness. A number of passages in the Canon mention
the Buddha and his Arahant disciples exercising their supranormal powers,
which shows that they were practicing concentration for the sake of attaining
knowledge and vision as well, to use in instructing those around them. The
description of the Buddha’s passing away tells that he entered total nibbana
after exercising his mastery in the full range of jhanic attainments. Thus the
practice of concentration is useful all the way to the point where one gains
total release from the round of death and rebirth.
this very body with the rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal. There
is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture & pleasure born from
withdrawal.
Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman’s apprentice would pour bath
powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again & again
with water, so that his ball of bath powder – saturated, moisture-laden,
permeated within & without – would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk
permeates... this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of withdrawal.
There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture & pleasure born
from withdrawal. This is the first development of the five-factored noble
right concentration.
Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he en-
ters & remains in the second jhana: rapture & pleasure born of composure,
unification of awareness free from directed thought & evaluation – internal
assurance. He permeates & pervades, suffuses & fills this very body with the
rapture & pleasure born of composure. There is nothing of his entire body
unpervaded by rapture & pleasure born of composure.
Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow
from east, west, north, or south, and with the skies periodically supplying
abundant showers, so that the cool fount of water welling up from within
the lake would permeate & pervade, suffuse & fill it with cool waters, there
being no part of the lake unpervaded by the cool waters; even so, the monk
permeates... this very body with the rapture & pleasure born of composure.
There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by rapture & pleasure born
of composure. This is the second development of the five-factored noble right
concentration.
And furthermore, with the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity,
mindful & alert, and physically sensitive to pleasure. He enters & remains in
the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, ’Equanimous & mindful,
he has a pleasurable abiding.’ He permeates & pervades, suffuses & fills this
very body with the pleasure divested of rapture, so that there is nothing of
his entire body unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture.
Just as in a blue-, white-, or red-lotus pond, there may be some of the
blue, white, or red lotuses which, born & growing in the water, stay immersed
in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that
they are permeated & pervaded, suffused & filled with cool water from their
roots to their tips, and nothing of those blue, white, or red lotuses would be
unpervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates... this very body
270 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
with the pleasure divested of rapture. There is nothing of his entire body
unpervaded with pleasure divested of rapture. This is the third development
of the five-factored noble right concentration.
And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure & stress – as with
the earlier disappearance of elation & distress – he enters & remains in the
fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain.
He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is
nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure, bright awareness.
Just as if a man were sitting wrapped from head to foot with a white
cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth
did not extend; even so, the monk sits, permeating his body with a pure,
bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by pure,
bright awareness. This is the fourth development of the five-factored noble
right concentration.
And furthermore, the monk has his theme of reflection well in hand,
well attended to, well pondered, well tuned (well-penetrated) by means of
discernment.
Just as if one person were to reflect on another, or a standing person were
to reflect on a sitting person, or a sitting person were to reflect on a person
lying down; even so, monks, the monk has his theme of reflection well in
hand, well attended to, well pondered, well tuned by means of discernment.
This is the fifth development of the five-factored noble right concentration.
When a monk has developed & pursued the five-factored noble right con-
centration in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowledges he turns
his mind to know & realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there
is an opening. [§64]
Suppose that there were a water jar, set on a stand, brimful of water so
that a crow could drink from it. If a strong man were to tip it in any way at
all, would water spill out?
Yes, lord.
In the same way, when a monk has developed & pursued the five-factored
noble right concentration in this way, then whichever of the six higher knowl-
edges he turns his mind to know & realize, he can witness them for himself
whenever there is an opening.
Suppose there were a rectangular water tank – set on level ground, bounded
by dikes – brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it. If a strong
man were to loosen the dikes anywhere at all, would water spill out?
Yes, lord...
16.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 271
A monk endowed with these five qualities is capable of entering & re-
maining in right concentration. Which five? He can withstand [the impact
of] sights... sounds... aromas... tastes... tactile sensations. A monk en-
dowed with these five qualities is capable of entering & remaining in right
concentration.
– AN V.113
§ 154. A monk who has not abandoned these six qualities is incapable of
entering & remaining in the first jhana. Which six? Sensual desire, ill will,
sloth & drowsiness, restlessness & anxiety, uncertainty, and not seeing well
with right discernment, as they actually are present, the drawbacks of sensual
pleasures...
A monk who has not abandoned these six qualities is incapable of entering
& remaining in the first jhana. Which six? Thoughts of sensuality, thoughts
of ill will, thoughts of harmfulness, perceptions of sensuality, perceptions of
ill will, perceptions of harmfulness.
– AN VI.73-74
§ 155. A monk endowed with these six qualities is capable of mastering
strength in concentration. Which six?
There is the case where a monk is skilled in the attaining of concentration,
in the maintenance of concentration, & in the exit from concentration. He is
deliberate in doing it, persevering in doing it, and amenable to doing it.
A monk endowed with these six qualities is capable of mastering strength
in concentration.
– AN VI.72
§ 156. A monk endowed with these six qualities could break through the
Himalayas, king of mountains, to say nothing of miserable ignorance. Which
six?
There is the case where a monk is skilled in the attaining of concentration,
in the maintenance of concentration, in the exit from concentration, in the
[mind’s] preparedness for concentration, in the range of concentration, & in
the application of concentration.
A monk endowed with these six qualities could break through the Hi-
malayas, king of mountains, to say nothing of miserable ignorance.
– AN VI.24
§ 157. Imagine a great pool of water to which there comes a great bull
elephant, seven or seven and a half cubits tall. The thought occurs to him,
274 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
’What if I were to plunge into this pool of water, to amuse myself by squirting
water into my ears and along my back, and then to bathe & drink & come
back out & go off as I please.’ So he plunges into the pool of water, amuses
himself by squirting water into his ears and along his back, and then bathes
& drinks & comes back out & goes off as he pleases. Why is that? Because
his large body finds a footing in the depth.
Now suppose a rabbit or a cat were to come along & think, ’What’s the
difference between me & a bull elephant? What if I were to plunge into this
pool of water, to amuse myself by squirting water into my ears and along
my back, and then to bathe & drink & come back out & go off as I please.’
So he plunges rashly into the pool of water without reflecting, and of him it
can be expected that he will either sink to the bottom or float away on the
surface. Why is that? Because his small body doesn’t find a footing in the
depth.
In the same way, whoever says, ’Without having attained concentration,
I will go live in solitude, in isolated wilderness places,’ of him it can be
expected that he will either sink to the bottom or float away on the surface.
– AN X.99
§ 158. These are the five rewards for one who practices walking meditation.
Which five? He can endure traveling by foot; he can endure exertion; he
becomes free from disease; whatever he has eaten & drunk, chewed & sa-
vored, becomes well-digested; the concentration he wins while doing walking
meditation lasts for a long time.
– AN V.29
§ 159. Distracting Thoughts. When a monk is intent on the heightened
mind, there are five themes he should attend to at the appropriate times.
Which five?
There is the case where evil, unskillful thoughts – connected with desire,
aversion, or delusion – arise in a monk while he is referring to & attending
to a particular theme. He should attend to another theme, apart from that
one, connected with what is skillful. When he is attending to this other
theme... those evil, unskillful thoughts... are abandoned & subside. With
their abandoning, he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, &
concentrates it. Just as a skilled carpenter or his apprentice would use a
small peg to knock out, drive out, & pull out a large one; in the same way...
he steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it.
If evil, unskillful thoughts – connected with desire, aversion, or delusion
16.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 275
– still arise in the monk while he is attending to this other theme, connected
with what is skillful, he should scrutinize the drawbacks of those thoughts:
’Truly, these thoughts of mine are unskillful... blameworthy... these thoughts
of mine result in stress.’ As he is scrutinizing their drawbacks... those evil,
unskillful thoughts... are abandoned & subside. With their abandoning, he
steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it. Just as
a young woman – or man – fond of adornment, would be horrified, humiliated,
& disgusted if the carcass of a snake or a dog or a human being were hung
from her neck; in the same way... the monk steadies his mind right within,
settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it.
If evil, unskillful thoughts – connected with desire, aversion or delusion
– still arise in the monk while he is scrutinizing the drawbacks of those
thoughts, he should pay no mind & pay no attention to those thoughts. As
he is paying no mind & paying no attention to them... those evil, unskillful
thoughts are abandoned & subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his
mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it. Just as a man with
good eyes, not wanting to see forms that had come into range, would close
his eyes or look away; in the same way... the monk steadies his mind right
within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it.
If evil, unskillful thoughts – connected with desire, aversion or delusion
– still arise in the monk while he is paying no mind & paying no attention
to those thoughts, he should attend to the relaxing of thought-fabrication
with regard to those thoughts. As he is attending to the relaxing of thought-
fabrication with regard to those thoughts... those evil, unskillful thoughts
are abandoned & subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his mind right
within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it. Just as the thought would
occur to a man walking quickly, ’Why am I walking quickly? Why don’t I
walk slowly?’ So he walks slowly. The thought occurs to him, ’Why am I
walking slowly? Why don’t I stand?’ So he stands. The thought occurs to
him, ’Why am I standing? Why don’t I sit down?’ So he sits down. The
thought occurs to him, ’Why am I sitting? Why don’t I lie down?’ So he
lies down. In this way, giving up the grosser posture, he takes up the more
refined one. In the same way... the monk steadies his mind right within,
settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it.
If evil, unskillful thoughts – connected with desire, aversion or delusion
– still arise in the monk while he is attending to the relaxing of thought-
fabrication with regard to those thoughts, then – with his teeth clenched
& his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth – he should beat down,
276 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
constrain, & crush his mind with his awareness. As – with his teeth clenched
& his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth – he is beating down,
constraining, & crushing his mind with his awareness... those evil, unskillful
thoughts are abandoned & subside. With their abandoning, he steadies his
mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it. Just as a strong
man, seizing a weaker man by the head or the throat or the shoulders, would
beat him down, constrain, & crush him; in the same way... the monk steadies
his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concentrates it.
Now when a monk... attending to another theme... scrutinizing the draw-
backs of those thoughts... paying no mind & paying no attention to those
thoughts... attending to the relaxing of thought-fabrication with regard to
those thoughts... beating down, constraining & crushing his mind with his
awareness... steadies his mind right within, settles it, unifies it, & concen-
trates it: He is then called a monk with mastery over the ways of thought
sequences. He thinks whatever thought he wants to, and doesn’t think what-
ever thought he doesn’t. He has severed craving, thrown off the fetters, and
– through the right penetration of conceit – has made an end of suffering &
stress.
– MN 20[72]
§ 160. There are these gross impurities in gold: dirty sand, gravel, & grit.
The dirt-washer or his apprentice, having placed [the gold] in a vat, washes
it again & again until he has washed them away.
When he is rid of them, there remain the moderate impurities in the
gold: coarse sand & fine grit. He washes the gold again & again until he has
washed them away.
When he is rid of them, there remain the fine impurities in the gold: fine
sand & black dust. The dirt-washer or his apprentice washes the gold again
& again until he has washed them away.
When he is rid of them, there remains just the gold dust. The goldsmith
or his apprentice, having placed it in a crucible, blows on it again & again to
blow away the dross. The gold, as long as it has not been blown on again &
again to the point where the impurities are blown away, as long as it is not
refined & free from dross, is not pliant, malleable, or luminous. It is brittle
and not ready to be worked. But there comes a time when the goldsmith
or his apprentice has blown on the gold again & again until the dross is
blown away. The gold... is then refined, free from dross, plaint, malleable, &
luminous. It is not brittle, and is ready to be worked. Then whatever sort of
16.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 277
I... were to enter & remain in the fourth jhana’... Without jumping at the
fourth jhana, he... enters & remains in the fourth jhana. He sticks with that
theme, develops it, pursues it, & establishes himself firmly in it.
The thought occurs to him, ’What if I, with the complete transcending of
perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of re-
sistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, "Infinite space,"
were to enter & remain in the dimension of the infinitude of space.’ Without
jumping at the dimension of the infinitude of space, he... enters & remains
in dimension of the infinitude of space. He sticks with that theme, develops
it, pursues it, & establishes himself firmly in it.
The thought occurs to him, ’What if I, with the complete transcending of
the dimension of the infinitude of space, thinking, "Infinite consciousness,"
were to enter & remain in the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness.’
Without jumping at the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, he...
enters & remains in dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. He sticks
with that theme, develops it, pursues it, & establishes himself firmly in it.
The thought occurs to him, ’What if I, with the complete transcending of
the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, thinking, "There is nothing,"
were to enter & remain in the dimension of nothingness.’ Without jumping
at the dimension of nothingness, he... enters & remains in dimension of
nothingness. He sticks with that theme, develops it, pursues, it & establishes
himself firmly in it.
The thought occurs to him, ’What if I, with the complete transcending
of the dimension of nothingness, were to enter & remain in the dimension of
neither perception nor non-perception.’ Without jumping at the dimension
of neither perception nor non-perception, he... enters & remains in the di-
mension of neither perception nor non-perception. He sticks with that theme,
develops it, pursues it, & establishes himself firmly in it.
The thought occurs to him, ’What if I, with the complete transcending
of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, were to enter &
remain in the cessation of perception & feeling.’ Without jumping at the
cessation of perception & feeling, he... enters & remains in the cessation of
perception & feeling.
When a monk enters & emerges from that very attainment, his mind is
pliant & malleable. With his pliant, malleable mind, limitless concentration
is well developed. With his well developed, limitless concentration, then
whichever of the six higher knowledges he turns his mind to know & realize,
he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opening.
282 Chapter 16. Right Concentration
– AN IX.35[33]
§ 163. Guided by the elephant trainer, the elephant to be tamed goes only in
one direction: east, west, north, or south... Guided by the Tathagata... the
person to be tamed goes in eight directions. Possessed of form, he sees forms.
This is the first direction. Not percipient of form internally, he sees forms
externally. This is the second direction. He is intent only on the beautiful.
This is the third direction. With the complete transcending of perceptions
of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and
not heeding perceptions of diversity, thinking, ’Infinite space,’ he enters & re-
mains in the dimension of the infinitude of space. This is the fourth direction.
With the complete transcending of the dimension of the infinitude of space,
thinking, ’Infinite consciousness,’ he enters & remains in the dimension of the
infinitude of consciousness. This is the fifth direction. He... enters & remains
in the dimension of nothingness. This is the sixth direction. He... enters &
remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. This is
the seventh direction. With the complete transcending of the dimension of
neither perception nor non-perception, he enters & remains in the cessation
of perception & feeling. This is the eighth direction.
– MN 137[93]
§ 164. ’There are these seven properties. Which seven? The property of
light, the property of beauty, the property of the dimension of the infinitude
of space, the property of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, the
property of the dimension of nothingness, the property of the dimension of
neither perception nor non-perception, the property of the dimension of the
cessation of feeling & perception. These are the seven properties.’
When this was said, a certain monk addressed the Blessed One: ’...In
dependence on what are these properties discerned?’
’The property of light is discerned in dependence on darkness. The prop-
erty of beauty is discerned in dependence on the unattractive. The property
of the dimension of the infinitude of space is discerned in dependence on
form. The property of the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness is
discerned in dependence on the dimension of the infinitude of space. The
property of the dimension of nothingness is discerned in dependence on the
dimension of the infinitude of consciousness. The property of the dimension
of neither perception nor non-perception is discerned in dependence on the
dimension of nothingness. The property of the dimension of the cessation of
feeling & perception is discerned in dependence on cessation.’
16.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 283
We noted in II/A (Section II) that some of the sets in the Wings to Awak-
ening list jhana as a condition for discernment, while others list discernment
as a condition for jhana. Place both of these patterns into the context of
this/that conditionality, and they convey the point that jhana and discern-
ment in practice are mutually supporting. Passage §171 states this point ex-
plicitly, while §165 and §166 show that the difference between the two causal
patterns relates to differences in meditators: some develop strong powers of
concentration before developing strong discernment, whereas others gain a
sound theoretical understanding of the Dhamma before developing strong
concentration. In either case, both strong concentration and sound discern-
ment are needed to bring about Awakening. Passage §111 makes the point
that when the practice reaches the culmination of its development, concen-
tration and discernment act in concert. The passages in this section deal
with this topic in more detail.
The role of jhana as a condition for transcendent discernment is one of the
most controversial issues in the Theravada tradition. Three basic positions
have been advanced in modern writings. One, following the commentarial
tradition, asserts that jhana is not necessary for any of the four levels of
Awakening and that there is a class of individuals – called "dry insight"
meditators – who are "released through discernment" based on a level of
concentration lower than that of jhana. A second position, citing a passage in
the Canon [AN III.88[6]; MFU, pp. 103[149, p103]] stating that concentration
is mastered only on the level of non-returning, holds that jhana is necessary
for the attainment of non-returning and Arahantship, but not for the lower
levels of Awakening. The third position states that the attainment of at least
285
286 Chapter 17. Concentration & Discernment
the first level of jhana is essential for all four levels of Awakening.
Evidence from the Canon supports the third position, but not the other
two. As §106 points out, the attainment of stream-entry has eight factors,
one of which is right concentration, defined as jhana. In fact, according
to this particular discourse, jhana is the heart of the streamwinner’s path.
Secondly, there is no passage in the Canon describing the development of
transcendent discernment without at least some skill in jhana. The statement
that concentration is mastered only on the level of non-returning must be
interpreted in the light of the distinction between mastery and attainment. A
streamwinner may have attained jhana without mastering it; the discernment
developed in the process of gaining full mastery over the practice of jhana will
then lead him/her to the level of non-returning. As for the term "released
through discernment," passage §168 shows that it denotes people who have
become Arahants without experiencing the four formless jhanas. It does not
indicate a person who has not experienced jhana.
Part of the controversy over this question may be explained by the fact
that the commentarial literature defines jhana in terms that bear little re-
semblance to the canonical description. The Path of Purification – the cor-
nerstone of the commentarial system – takes as its paradigm for meditation
practice a method called kasina, in which one stares at an external object
until the image of the object is imprinted in one’s mind. The image then
gives rise to a countersign that is said to indicate the attainment of thresh-
old concentration, a necessary prelude to jhana. The text then tries to fit all
other meditation methods into the mold of kasina practice, so that they too
give rise to countersigns, but even by its own admission, breath meditation
does not fit well into the mold: with other methods, the stronger one’s focus,
the more vivid the object and the closer it is to producing a sign and coun-
tersign; but with the breath, the stronger one’s focus, the harder the object
is to detect. As a result, the text states that only Buddhas and Buddhas’
sons find the breath a congenial focal point for attaining jhana.
None of these assertions have any support in the Canon. Although a
practice called kasina is mentioned tangentially in some of the discourses,
the only point where it is described in any detail [MN 121[87]; MFU, pp.
82-85[148, p82]] makes no mention of staring at an object or gaining a coun-
tersign. If breath meditation were congenial only to Buddhas and their sons,
there seems little reason for the Buddha to have taught it so frequently and
to such a wide variety of people. If the arising of a countersign were essential
to the attainment of jhana, one would expect it to be included in the steps of
287
breath meditation and in the graphic analogies used to describe jhana, but
it isn’t. Some Theravadins insist that questioning the commentaries is a sign
of disrespect for the tradition, but it seems to be a sign of greater disrespect
for the Buddha – or the compilers of the Canon – to assume that he or they
would have left out something absolutely essential to the practice.
All of these points seem to indicate that what jhana means in the com-
mentaries is something quite different from what it means in the Canon.
Because of this difference we can say that the commentaries are right in
viewing their type of jhana as unnecessary for Awakening, but Awakening
cannot occur without the attainment of jhana in the canonical sense.
We have already given a sketch in the preceding section of how jhana
in its canonical sense can act as the basis for transcendent discernment. To
recapitulate: On attaining any of the first seven levels of jhana, one may step
back slightly from the object of jhana – entering the fifth factor of noble right
concentration [§150] – to perceive how the mind relates to the object. In doing
this, one sees the process of causation as it plays a role in bringing the mind
to jhana, together with the various mental acts of fabrication that go into
keeping it there [§182]. Passage §172 lists these acts in considerable detail.
The fact that the passage emphasizes the amazing abilities of Sariputta,
the Buddha’s foremost disciple in terms of discernment, implies that there
is no need for every meditator to perceive all these acts in such a detailed
fashion. What is essential is that one develop a sense of dispassion for the
state of jhana, seeing that even the relatively steady sense of refined pleasure
and equanimity it provides is artificial and willed, inconstant and stressful
[§182], a state fabricated from many different events, and thus not worth
identifying with. Jhana thus becomes an ideal test case for understanding
the workings of kamma and dependent co-arising in the mind. Its stability
gives discernment a firm basis for seeing clearly; its refined sense of pleasure
and equanimity allow the mind to realize that even the most refined mundane
states involve the inconstancy and stress common to all willed phenomena.
Passage §167 lists a number of verbal mental acts surrounding the exercise
of supranormal powers that can be regarded in a similar light, as topics to
be analyzed so as to give rise to a sense of dispassion. The dispassion that
results in either case enables one to experience the fading away and cessation
of the last remaining activities in the mind, even the activity of discernment
itself. When this process fully matures, it leads on to total relinquishment,
resulting in the clear knowing and release of Arahantship.
In contrast to the issue of the role of jhana as a condition for discern-
288 Chapter 17. Concentration & Discernment
§ 173. I tell you, the ending of the effluents depends on the first jhana...
the second jhana... the third... the fourth... the dimension of the infinitude
of space... the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness... the dimension
of nothingness... the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
’I tell you, the ending of the effluents depends on the first jhana.’ Thus it
has been said. In reference to what was it said?... Suppose that an archer or
archer’s apprentice were to practice on a straw man or mound of clay, so that
after a while he would become able to shoot long distances, to fire accurate
shots in rapid succession, and to pierce great masses. In the same way, there
is the case where a monk... enters & remains in the first jhana: rapture &
pleasure born of withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought & evaluation.
He regards whatever phenomena there that are connected with form, feeling,
perception, fabrications, & consciousness, as inconstant, stressful, a disease, a
cancer, an arrow, painful, an affliction, alien, a disintegration, an emptiness,
not-self. He turns his mind away from those phenomena, and having done
so, inclines his mind to the property of deathlessness: ’This is peace, this
is exquisite – the resolution of all fabrications; the relinquishment of all
acquisitions; the ending of craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.’
Staying right there, he reaches the ending of the mental effluents. Or, if
not, then – through this very dhamma-passion, this very dhamma-delight,
and from the total wasting away of the first five of the Fetters [self-identity
views, grasping at precepts & practices, uncertainty, sensual passion, and
resistance] – he is due to be reborn [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally
unbound, never again to return from that world.
’I tell you, the ending of the effluents depends on the first jhana.’ Thus
was it said, and in reference to this was it said.
(Similarly with the other levels of jhana up through the dimension of
nothingness.)
Thus, as far as the perception-attainments go, that is as far as gnosis-
penetration goes. As for these two spheres – the attainment of the dimension
of neither perception nor non-perception & the attainment of the cessation
of feeling & perception – I tell you that they are to be rightly explained by
those monks who are meditators, skilled in attaining, skilled in attaining &
emerging, who have attained & emerged in dependence on them.
– AN IX.36[34]
§ 174. Then Dasama the householder from the city of Atthaka went to
where Ven. Ananda was staying and on arrival, having bowed down, sat
17.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 295
to one side. As he was sitting there, he said to Ven. Ananda, ’Is there,
venerable sir, any one condition explained by the Blessed One... whereby a
monk – dwelling heedful, ardent, & resolute – releases his mind that is as yet
unreleased, or whereby the effluents not yet brought to an end come to an
end, or whereby he attains the unsurpassed security from bondage that he
has not yet attained?
Ananda: Yes, householder, there is... There is the case where a monk...
enters & remains in the first jhana... He notices that ’This first jhana is fab-
ricated & willed.’ He discerns, ’Whatever is fabricated & willed is inconstant
& subject to cessation.’ Staying right there, he reaches the ending of the
effluents. Or, if not, then – through passion & delight for this very phenom-
enon [of discernment] and from the total ending of the first five Fetters – he
is due to be reborn [in the Pure Abodes], there to be totally unbound, never
again to return from that world. (Similarly with the other levels of jhana
up through the dimension of nothingness and the four releases of awareness
based on good will, compassion, appreciation, & equanimity.)
– AN XI.17
§ 175.Sariputta: This Unbinding is pleasant, friends. This Unbinding is
pleasant.
Udayin: But what is the pleasure here, my friend, where there is nothing
felt?
Sariputta: Just that is the pleasure here, my friend: where there is noth-
ing felt. There are these five strings of sensuality. Which five? Forms cogniz-
able via the eye – agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire,
enticing; sounds... smells... tastes... tactile sensations cognizable via the
body – agreeable, pleasing, charming, endearing, fostering desire, enticing.
Whatever pleasure or joy arises in dependence on these five strings of sensu-
ality, that is sensual pleasure.
Now there is the case where a monk – quite withdrawn from sensuality,
withdrawn from unskillful qualities – enters & remains in the first jhana...
If, as he remains there, he is beset with attention to perceptions dealing with
sensuality, that is an affliction for him. Just as pain arises as an affliction for
a healthy person, even so the attention to perceptions dealing with sensuality
that beset the monk is an affliction for him. Now the Blessed One has said
that whatever is an affliction is stress. So by this line of reasoning it may be
known how Unbinding is pleasant.
Furthermore, there is the case where a monk... enters & remains in
296 Chapter 17. Concentration & Discernment
trough, he is simply absorbed with the thought, ’Barley grain! Barley grain!’
In the same way, there are cases where an unbroken colt of a man, having
gone to the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells
with his awareness overcome by sensual passion, obsessed with sensual pas-
sion. He does not discern the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual
passion once it has arisen. Making that sensual passion the focal point, he
absorbs himself with it, besorbs, resorbs, & supersorbs himself with it.
He dwells with his awareness overcome by ill will... sloth & drowsiness...
restlessness & anxiety... uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He does not
discern the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has
arisen. Making that uncertainty the focal point, he absorbs himself with it,
besorbs, resorbs, & supersorbs himself with it.
He is absorbed dependent on earth... liquid... fire... wind... the dimension
of the infinitude of space... the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness...
the dimension of nothingness... the dimension of neither perception nor non-
perception... this world... the next world... whatever is seen, heard, sensed,
cognized, attained, sought after, pondered by the intellect. That is how an
unbroken colt of a man is absorbed.
And how is a thoroughbred absorbed? An excellent thoroughbred horse
tied to the feeding trough, is not absorbed with the thought, ’Barley grain!
Barley grain!’ Why is that? Because as he is tied to the feeding trough,
the thought occurs to him, ’I wonder what task the trainer will have me do
today? What should I do in response?’ Tied to the feeding trough, he is
not absorbed with the thought, ’Barley grain! Barley grain!’ The excellent
thoroughbred horse regards the feel of the spur as a debt, an imprisonment,
a loss, a piece of bad luck.
In the same way, an excellent thoroughbred of a man, having gone to
the wilderness, to the foot of a tree, or to an empty dwelling, dwells with
his awareness not overcome by sensual passion, not obsessed with sensual
passion. He discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from sensual passion
once it has arisen.
He dwells with his awareness not overcome by ill will... sloth & drowsi-
ness... restlessness & anxiety... uncertainty, obsessed with uncertainty. He
discerns the escape, as it actually is present, from uncertainty once it has
arisen.
He is absorbed dependent neither on earth, liquid, heat, wind, the dimen-
sion of the infinitude of space, the dimension of the infinitude of conscious-
ness, the dimension of nothingness, the dimension of neither perception nor
17.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 299
non-perception, this world, the next world, nor on whatever is seen, heard,
sensed, cognized, attained, sought after, or pondered by the intellect – and
yet he is absorbed. And to this excellent thoroughbred of a man, absorbed
in this way, the gods, together with Indra, the Brahmas, & Pajapati, pay
homage even from afar:
– AN XI.10
§ 178. Knowledge of the ending of the effluents, as it is actually present,
occurs to one who is concentrated, I tell you, and not to one who is not
concentrated. So concentration is the path, monks. Non-concentration is no
path at all.
– AN VI.64
Chapter 18
301
302 Chapter 18. Equanimity in Concentration & Discernment
that the noble ones now enter & remain in?’ This is called renunciation
distress. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
And what are the six kinds of household equanimity? The equanimity
that arises when a foolish, deluded person – a run-of-the-mill, untaught per-
son who has not conquered his limitation or the results of action & who is
blind to danger – sees a form with the eye. Such equanimity does not go
beyond the form, which is why it is called household equanimity. (Similarly
with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, & ideas.)
And what are the six kinds of renunciation equanimity? The equanimity
that arises when – experiencing the inconstancy of those very forms, their
change, fading, & cessation – one sees with right discernment as it actu-
ally is that all forms, past or present, are inconstant, stressful, subject to
change: This equanimity goes beyond form, which is why it is called renun-
ciation equanimity. (Similarly with sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations,
& ideas.)
’Thirty-six emotions should be known by experience.’ Thus was it said.
And in reference to this was it said.
’With regard to them, depending on this, abandon that.’ Thus was it
said. And in reference to what was it said?
Here, by depending & relying on the six kinds of renunciation joy, aban-
don & transcend the six kinds of household joy. Such is their abandoning,
such is their transcending. By depending & relying on the six kinds of re-
nunciation distress, abandon & transcend the six kinds of household distress.
Such is their abandoning, such is their transcending. By depending & rely-
ing on the six kinds of renunciation equanimity, abandon & transcend the
six kinds of household equanimity. Such is their abandoning, such their tran-
scending.
By depending & relying on the six kinds of renunciation joy, abandon &
transcend the six kinds of renunciation distress. Such is their abandoning,
such is their transcending. By depending & relying on the six kinds of re-
nunciation equanimity, abandon & transcend the six kinds of renunciation
joy. Such is their abandoning, such their transcending.
There is equanimity coming from multiplicity, dependent on multiplicity;
and there is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness.
And what is equanimity coming from multiplicity, dependent on multi-
plicity? There is equanimity with regard to forms, equanimity with regard
to sounds... smells... tastes... tactile sensations [& ideas: this word ap-
pears in one of the recensions]. This is equanimity coming from multiplicity,
18.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 305
dependent on multiplicity.
And what is equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness?
There is equanimity dependent on the dimension of the infinitude of space,
equanimity dependent on the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness...
dependent on the dimension of nothingness... dependent on the dimension
of neither perception nor non-perception. This is equanimity coming from
singleness, dependent on singleness.
By depending & relying on equanimity coming from singleness, dependent
on singleness, abandon & transcend equanimity coming from multiplicity,
dependent on multiplicity. Such is its abandoning, such its transcending.
By depending & relying on non-fashioning, abandon & transcend the
equanimity coming from singleness, dependent on singleness. Such is its
abandoning, such its transcending.
’Depending on this, abandon that.’ Thus was it said. And in reference
to this was it said.
’There are three frames of reference that a noble one cultivates, cultivating
which he is a teacher fit to instruct a group.’ Thus was it said. And in
reference to what was it said?
There is the case where the Teacher – out of sympathy, seeking their well-
being – teaches the Dhamma to his disciples: ’This is for your well-being, this
is for your happiness.’ His disciples do not listen or lend ear or apply their
minds to gnosis. Turning aside, they stray from the Teacher’s message. In
this case the Tathagata is not satisfied nor is he sensitive to satisfaction, yet
he remains untroubled, mindful, & alert. This is the first frame of reference...
Furthermore, there is the case where the Teacher – out of sympathy,
seeking their well-being – teaches the Dhamma to his disciples: ’This is for
your well-being, this is for your happiness.’ Some of his disciples do not listen
or lend ear or apply their minds to gnosis. Turning aside, they stray from the
Teacher’s message. But some of his disciples listen, lend ear, & apply their
minds to gnosis. They do not turn aside or stray from the Teacher’s message.
In this case the Tathagata is not satisfied nor is he sensitive to satisfaction; at
the same time he is not dissatisfied nor is he sensitive to dissatisfaction. Free
from both satisfaction & dissatisfaction, he remains equanimous, mindful, &
alert. This is the second frame of reference...
Furthermore, there is the case where the Teacher – out of sympathy,
seeking their well-being – teaches the Dhamma to his disciples: ’This is for
your well-being, this is for your happiness.’ His disciples listen, lend ear,
& apply their minds to gnosis. They do not turn aside or stray from the
306 Chapter 18. Equanimity in Concentration & Discernment
Develop meditation in tune with space. For when you are developing
meditation in tune with space, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions
that have arisen will not stay in charge of your mind. Just as space is not
established anywhere, in the same way, when you are developing meditation
in tune with space, agreeable & disagreeable sensory impressions that have
arisen will not stay in charge of your mind.
– MN 62
§ 181. And how, Ananda, in the discipline of a noble one is there the
unexcelled development of the faculties? There is the case where, when
seeing a form with the eye, there arises in a monk what is agreeable, what
is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagreeable. He discerns that ’This
agreeable thing has arisen in me, this disagreeable thing... this agreeable
& disagreeable thing has arisen in me. And that is compounded, gross,
dependently co-arisen. But this is peaceful, this is exquisite, i.e., equanimity.’
With that, the arisen agreeable thing... disagreeable thing... agreeable &
disagreeable thing ceases, and equanimity takes its stance. Just as a man
with good eyes, having closed them, might open them; or having opened
them, might close them, that is how quickly, how rapidly, how easily, no
matter what it refers to, the arisen agreeable thing... disagreeable thing...
agreeable & disagreeable thing ceases, and equanimity takes its stance. In
the discipline of a noble one, this is called the unexcelled development of the
faculties with regard to forms cognizable by the eye.
Furthermore, when hearing a sound with the ear, there arises in a monk
what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagreeable. He
discerns that... and equanimity takes its stance. Just as a strong man might
easily snap his fingers, that is how quickly... equanimity takes its stance. In
the discipline of the noble ones, this is called the unexcelled development of
the faculties with regard to sounds cognizable by the ear.
Furthermore, when smelling an aroma with the nose, there arises in a
monk what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagree-
able. He discerns that... and equanimity takes its stance. Just as drops of
water roll off a gently sloping lotus leaf & do not remain there, that is how
quickly... equanimity takes its stance. In the discipline of the noble ones, this
is called the unexcelled development of the faculties with regard to aromas
cognizable by the nose.
Furthermore, when tasting a flavor with the tongue, there arises in a monk
what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagreeable. He
308 Chapter 18. Equanimity in Concentration & Discernment
discerns that... and equanimity takes its stance. Just as a strong man might
easily spit out a ball of saliva gathered on the tip of his tongue, that is how
quickly... equanimity takes its stance. In the discipline of the noble ones, this
is called the unexcelled development of the faculties with regard to flavors
cognizable by the tongue.
Furthermore, when touching a tactile sensation with the body, there arises
in a monk what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & dis-
agreeable. He discerns that... and equanimity takes its stance. Just as a
strong man might easily extend his flexed arm or flex his extended arm, that
is how quickly... equanimity takes its stance. In the discipline of the noble
ones, this is called the unexcelled development of the faculties with regard
to tactile sensations cognizable by the body.
Furthermore, when cognizing an idea with the intellect, there arises in
a monk what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & dis-
agreeable. He discerns that ’This agreeable thing has arisen in me, this
disagreeable thing... this agreeable & disagreeable thing has arisen in me.
And that is compounded, gross, dependently co-arisen. But this is peaceful,
this is exquisite, i.e., equanimity. With that, the arisen agreeable thing...
disagreeable thing... agreeable & disagreeable thing ceases, and equanimity
takes its stance. Just as a strong man might let two or three drops of water
fall onto an iron pan heated all day: Slow would be the falling of the drops of
water, but they quickly would vanish & disappear. That is how quickly, how
rapidly, how easily, no matter what it refers to, the arisen agreeable thing...
disagreeable thing... agreeable & disagreeable thing ceases, and equanimity
takes its stance. In the discipline of the noble ones, this is called the un-
excelled development of the faculties with regard to ideas cognizable by the
intellect. [§60]
And how is one a person in training, someone following the way? There
is the case where, when seeing a form with the eye, there arises in a monk
what is agreeable, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagreeable.
He feels horrified, humiliated, & disgusted with the arisen agreeable thing...
disagreeable thing... agreeable & disagreeable thing. (Similarly with the
other senses.)...
And how is one a noble one with developed faculties? There is the case
where, when seeing a form with the eye, there arises in a monk what is agree-
able, what is disagreeable, what is agreeable & disagreeable. If he wants, he
remains percipient of loathsomeness in the presence of what is not loath-
some. If he wants, he remains percipient of unloathsomeness in the presence
18.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 309
himself for the attainment of the first jhana and disparages others. This is
the quality of a person who is not truly good.
The truly good person notices, ’The Blessed One has spoken of non-
fashioning even with regard to the attainment of the first jhana, for however
they construe it, it becomes otherwise.’ So, making non-fashioning his focal
point, he neither exalts himself for the attainment of the first jhana nor
disparages others. This is the quality of a person who is truly good.
(Similarly with the other levels of jhana up through the dimension of
nothingness.)
A person who is not truly good... enters & remains in the dimension
of neither perception nor non-perception. He notices, ’I have gained the
attainment of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, but
these other monks have not gained the attainment of the dimension of neither
perception nor non-perception.’ He exalts himself for the attainment of the
dimension of neither perception nor non-perception and disparages others.
This is the quality of a person who is not truly good.
The truly good person notices, ’The Blessed One has spoken of non-
fashioning even with regard to the attainment of the dimension of neither
perception nor non-perception, for however they construe it, it becomes oth-
erwise.’ So, making non-fashioning his focal point, he neither exalts himself
for the attainment of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception
nor disparages others. This is the quality of a person who is truly good.
The truly good person, completely transcending the dimension of neither
perception nor non-perception, enters & remains in the cessation of feeling &
perception. When he sees with discernment, his effluents are ended. This is
a monk who does not construe anything, does not construe anywhere, does
not construe in any way.
– MN 113
Chapter 19
The texts define right view as knowledge with regard to the four noble truths.
The phrase "with regard to," here (expressed by the locative case in Pali), can
also mean "in terms of," and this alternative meaning is especially relevant
in this case. It reflects the point that the knowledge constituting right view
is not a theoretical knowledge about the truths but is a way of using the
truths to categorize all of conditioned experience. Because these truths view
experience in terms of function – how unskillful and skillful mental qualities
play a role in the causal chain of creating suffering or bringing it to an end
[DN 1; MFU, p. 64[148, p63]] – the right way to view right view itself is not
to stop with its definition but to regard it in terms of its function and then
put it to its intended use.
The function of right view is to look at events in the mind in a way
that gives rise to a sense of dispassion, leading the mind to a state of non-
fashioning and then on to Awakening. It does this by focusing on the way
in which passion and desire lead to suffering and stress. In this, it develops
the mind’s basic reaction to stress – the search for a way to escape from the
stress [§189] – in a skillful way so that this reaction actually leads to utter
release. When the mind sees, without its normal bewilderment, the actual
process by which stress is caused, it will naturally let go of the causes. When
it sees passion clearly enough to catch that passion in the act of leading to
stress, it will naturally develop a sense of dispassion for and detachment from
the passion, so that it can view it simply as a mental event, with no meaning
in terms of anything else. This opens the way to the state of non-fashioning
where the cause of stress is allowed to cease.
The causal connection between passion and desire on the one hand, and
311
312 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
stress on the other, is explained in the standard formula for dependent co-
arising under the factor of clinging/sustenance. A passage in the Canon [SN
XXII.121[119], MFU, pp. 44-45[148, p44]] analyzes this factor into four forms
of passion and desire for the five aggregates: clinging to sensuality, clinging
to precepts and practices, clinging to views, and clinging to theories about
the self. The third form of clinging listed here points to one of the paradoxes
about right view: it is a form of view that has to loosen attachment to all
views, ultimately including itself. Passage §187 shows how this happens.
When faced with a variety of views about the world and the self, right view
looks at the views, not in terms of their content, but simply as events in the
mind, in and of themselves. It sees them as part of a causal chain: fabricated,
inconstant, stressful, and thus not-self, not worthy of attachment. In this way
it makes the mind dispassionate to all other views: dispassionate toward the
terms they use, dispassionate toward their claims to truth. Right view then
turns on itself to see itself as part of a similar causal chain. This loosens any
sense of attachment even for right view so that the mind can see the view
simply as an event: "there is this." This entry into the perceptual mode of
emptiness leads straight to the "higher escape" – the state of non-fashioning
– that then becomes present to awareness.
Because right view is the only form of view that contains the seeds of its
own transcendence in this way, it is the only form of knowing that is skillful
enough to lead to Awakening. The Canon gives no room for any alternative
"skillful means" that would contradict right view. After the experience of
Awakening, the texts tell us [SN XXII.122[120]], one continues to make use
of right view, without any sense of clinging, as a pleasant abiding for the
mind and for mindfulness and alertness, much as one would use jhana for
the same purpose [III/E (Section 15.1)]. This process of transcending right
view even as one makes use of it shows that non-attachment to views does
not mean agnosticism or an openness to all views. Instead, non-attachment
is a skillful way of making use of one’s discerning faculties, seeing through
to the causal function of all views, so that one may attain Awakening and
then maintain a pleasant and mindfully alert abiding after one has become
awakened.
The steps in the functioning of right view correspond to the three stages of
frames-of-reference meditation [II/B (Section 4.1)]. The first step, in which
one focuses on events in and of themselves – and not in reference to anything
they might mean outside of the range of immediate experience – corresponds
to the first stage of frames-of-reference meditation, in which one stays focused
313
on the body, etc., in and of itself, putting aside all greed and distress with
reference to the world. The second step of right view, in which one focuses
on events in terms of their role in the causal chain – fabricated, inconstant,
stressful, and not-self – corresponds to the second stage of frames-of-reference
meditation, in which one remains focused on the phenomenon of origination
and passing away. The third step of right view, in which one sees even
right view simply as an event, corresponds to the third stage of frames-of-
reference meditation in which one moves to the perceptual mode of "entry
into emptiness," noting simply, "There is this" – without being caught up in
the "this" – and from there on to non-fashioning and Awakening. Because the
practice of jhana is also implicated in these three steps – steadying the mind
in the first step, sensitizing it to causality in the second, and providing the
basis for the fifth factor of noble concentration in the third – mindfulness,
concentration, and discernment are thus inextricably intertwined as they
develop along the path to Awakening.
It is important to note that right view functions in two time frames:
small and large. Its primary frame is in the small frame, dealing exclusively
with the immediate present. As it focuses on the phenomenon of origination
and passing away, it reduces its terms of analysis to more and more basic
levels until reaching the point where it sees even such simple categories as
"being" and "non-being" as extraneous, inappropriate, and irrelevant to the
simple flow of events arising and passing away in the present [§186]. As a
result, it strips everything down to the most basic categories of experience –
the presence and absence of stress – without adding anything further. This
phenomenological mode of perception, or "entry into emptiness," sees things
simply in terms of what is present and what is not [MN 121[87]; MFU,
pp. 82-85[148, p83]]. Here, realizations are expressed merely as pointers
to present phenomena without any content that would point to anything
outside of direct experience: "There is this," [MN 102; MFU, pp. 81-82[148,
p82]] "Such is form, such is feeling," [§149] etc. The Pali name for this/that
conditionality, idappaccayata, points to the fact that not only the phenomena
but also their relationships are a matter of immediate, "right here-and-now"
insight.
Once these insights are gained on the level of radically immediate experi-
ence, one realizes that they have implications for the larger time frame of the
whole process of transmigration, and one’s entire experience of the cosmos as
well [§211-15]. The process of stress arising and passing away in the present
is precisely the same process as that of living beings arising and passing away
314 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
on the cosmic scale. One sees that one has participated in this process from
an inconceivable beginning in time; one knows – now that the process has
been disbanded – that one has found the end of the cycle of rebirth. This is
because, in entering radically into the present moment by stripping away all
clinging, one ultimately steps out of the dimensions of time and the present;
having done so, one can see the totality of what it means to be in those
dimensions.
This point is illustrated in two passages [§§74, 64] that express the content
of right view immediately before and after the experience of the Deathless:
’From an inconceivable beginning comes transmigration. A
beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by igno-
rance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering
on. The total fading & cessation of ignorance, of this mass of
darkness, is this peaceful, exquisite state: the resolution of all
fabrications; the relinquishment of all acquisitions; the ending of
craving; dispassion; cessation; Unbinding.’
’This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the
cessation of stress... This is the way leading to the cessation of
stress... These are effluents... This is the origination of effluents...
This is the cessation of effluents... This is the way leading to the
cessation of effluents.’ His heart, thus knowing, thus seeing, is
released from the effluent of sensuality, released from the effluent
of becoming, released from the effluent of ignorance. With release,
there is the knowledge, ’Released.’ He discerns that ’Birth is
ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing
further for this world.’
The first passage depicts the act of discernment that verifies the princi-
ples of conviction. The second passage depicts the act of discernment that
confirms the fact that the five faculties, when fully developed, do lead to
the Deathless [§89]. Notice that both passages follow a similar pattern, even
though they deal with vastly different time scales. Transmigration and dark-
ness, in the first passage, correspond to stress in the second. Ignorance and
craving are the origination of stress, and the sentence, "The total fading &
cessation of ignorance... Unbinding," describes the cessation of stress. The
act of discernment that sees all these things is the way leading to the ces-
sation of stress. This repetition of the same pattern on two different frames
of space and time in non-linear systems is called scale invariance: the same
19.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 315
process on two different scales [I/B (Section 2.1)]. It is one of the most
distinctive features of the Buddha’s teachings, for it shows how an insight
into a present moment in the mind can have repercussions on one’s entire
involvement in the cosmos. The principle behind the scale invariance of right
view is this/that conditionality: the fact that one’s continued participation in
the cosmos is kept going by one’s present contribution to the causal stream
initiated over the long course of the past. By reaching the state of non-
fashioning, one stops contributing to the present, and thus can bring the
totality of one’s participation to an end, leaving the utter freedom of Un-
binding. In this sense, the principle of this/that conditionality explains the
possibility of attaining the Deathless, while the actuality of the Deathless –
once it is attained through skillful mastery of kamma – is what proves the
principle of this/that conditionality as an adequate description of the causal
process that fabricates conditioned experience and provides an opening to
the Unfabricated.
moist soil, whatever nutriment it takes from the soil & the water, all conduces
to its sweetness, tastiness, & unalloyed delectability. Why is that? Because
of the auspicious nature of the seed.
In the same way, when a person has right view, whatever bodily deeds he
undertakes in line with that view, whatever verbal deeds... whatever mental
deeds he undertakes in line with that view, whatever intentions, whatever
vows, whatever determinations, whatever fabrications, all lead to what is
agreeable, pleasing, charming, profitable, & easeful. Why is that? Because
of the auspicious nature of the view.
– AN I.181-82, 189-90
§ 185. Right view, when assisted by these five factors, has awareness-release
as its fruit & reward, has discernment-release as its fruit & reward. Which
five?
There is the case where right view is assisted by virtue, assisted by learn-
ing, assisted by discussion, assisted by tranquillity, & assisted by insight
(vipassana).
When assisted by these five factors, right view has awareness-release &
discernment-release as its fruit & reward.
– AN V.25[16]
§ 186.Kaccayana: ’Lord, "Right view, right view," it is said. To what extent
is there right view?’
The Buddha: ’By & large, Kaccayana, this world is supported by (takes
as its object) a polarity, that of existence & non-existence. But when one
sees the origination of the world as it actually is with right discernment,
"non-existence" with reference to the world does not occur to one. When
one sees the cessation of the world as it actually is with right discernment,
"existence" with reference to the world does not occur to one.
’By & large, Kaccayana, this world is in bondage to attachments, clingings
(sustenances), & biases. But one such as this does not get involved with
or cling to these attachments, clingings, fixations of awareness, biases, or
obsessions; nor is he resolved on "my self." He has no uncertainty or doubt
that, when there is arising, only stress is arising; and that when there is
passing away, stress is passing away. In this, one’s knowledge is independent
of others. It is to this extent, Kaccayana, that there is right view.’ – SN
XII.15[102]
§ 187. Then Anathapindika the householder went to where the wanderers
19.1. Passages from the Pali Canon 317
– AN X.93[39]
with anything less than absolute happiness. We are fortunate that he was
so demanding and succeeded in his aim, for otherwise we would have to
undertake the uncertain task of trying to discover the way to that happiness
ourselves.
Although the four noble truths constitute the most basic categories of the
Buddha’s teaching, he did not discuss them unless he felt that his listeners
were ready for them. To understand and accept them requires a basic shift in
the framework of one’s awareness, and only a mind that has been thoroughly
prepared is in a position to make such a shift. Often the Buddha would
prepare his listeners with what he called a gradual discourse: discussing
step by step the joy of generosity; the joy of living a virtuous life; the long-
term sensory rewards of generosity and virtue in heaven; the drawbacks and
impermanence of sensory pleasures and conditioned phenomena in general;
and finally the rewards of renunciation. Then, if he sensed that his listeners
were ready to look favorably on renunciation as a means to true happiness,
he would discuss the four truths, beginning with suffering and stress. In
this, he followed the sequence of his own Awakening: beginning with insight
into the punishments of bad kamma, the rewards of good kamma, and the
limitations of all kamma, and then proceeding to insight into the origination
of stress and its cessation through the cessation of kamma [§9].
Once the problem of stress and suffering is solved, he said, there are
no more problems. This is why he limited his teaching to this issue, even
though his own Awakening encompassed much more [§188]. The vicious cycle
that operates between suffering and ignorance – with ignorance underlying
the craving that causes suffering, and suffering causing the bewilderment
that leads people to act in ignorant and unskillful ways [§189] – can be
broken only when one focuses on understanding suffering and stress and the
causal network that surrounds them. Most people are so bewildered by the
complexities of suffering and stress that they do not even know what the true
problem is. Thus they may deny that they are suffering, or may imagine that
something stressful can actually be a solution to their problems. The genius
of the Buddha is that he recognized the most elegant and comprehensive way
to deal with every variety of dissatisfaction in life. When suffering and stress
are seen with clear knowledge, they no longer can cause bewilderment, and
the cycle that underlies all the problems of experience can be disbanded for
good.
As §195 states, this clear knowledge is based on knowledge of the four
noble truths. These truths are best understood not as the content of a belief,
320 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
but as categories for viewing and classifying the processes of immediate expe-
rience. In §51, the Buddha refers to them as categories of "appropriate atten-
tion," a skillful alternative to the common way that people categorize their
experience in terms of two dichotomies: being/non-being, and self/other.
For several reasons, these common dichotomies are actually problem-causing,
rather than problem-solving. The being/non-being dichotomy, for instance,
comes down to the question of whether or not there exist actual "things" be-
hind the changing phenomena of experience. This type of questioning deals,
by definition, with possibilities that cannot be directly experienced: If the
things in question could be experienced, then they wouldn’t be lying behind
experience. Thus the being/non-being dichotomy pulls one’s attention into
the land of conjecture – "a thicket of views, a wilderness of views, a contor-
tion of views, a writhing of views, a fetter of views" [MN 72[79]] – and away
from the area of direct awareness where the real problem and its solution lie
[§186].
As for the self/other dichotomy, there is the initial difficulty of determin-
ing what the self is. Any true self would have to lie totally under one’s own
control, and yet nothing that one might try to identify as one’s self actually
meets this criterion. Although the sense of self may seem intuitive enough,
when carefully examined it shows itself to be based on confused perceptions
and ideas. If one’s basic categories for understanding experience are a cause
for confusion in this way, they can lead only to confused, unskillful action,
and thus to more suffering and stress. For example, when people view the
source of their problems as poor relationships between themselves and oth-
ers, or inadequate integration of the self, they are trying to analyze their
problems in terms of categories that are ultimately uncertain. Thus there
is a built-in uncertainty in the efforts they make to solve their problems in
terms of those categories.
A second problem, no matter how one might define a self, is the question
of how to prove whether or not it actually exists. This question entangles
the mind in the unresolvable problems of the being/non-being dichotomy
mentioned above: Because the problem is phrased in terms that cannot be
directly experienced, it forces the solution into a realm that cannot be expe-
rienced, either. This fact probably explains the Buddha’s statement in §230
to the effect that if one even asks the question of whether there is some-
one standing outside the processes of dependent co-arising to whom those
processes pertain, it is impossible to lead the life that will bring about an
end to suffering. Regardless of whether one would answer the question with
19.2. The Four Noble Truths 321
a yes or a no, the terms of the question focus on an area outside of direct
experience and thus away from the true problem – the direct experience of
suffering – and actually make it worse. If one assumes the existence of a self,
one must take on the implicit imperative to maximize the self’s well-being
through recourse to the "other." This recourse may involve either exploiting
the "other" or swallowing the "other" into the self by equating one’s self
with the cosmos as a whole. Either approach involves clinging and craving,
which lead to further suffering and stress. On the other hand, if one denies
any kind of self, saying that the cosmos is totally "other," then one is as-
suming that there is nothing with any long-term existence whose happiness
deserves anything more than quick, short-term attempts at finding pleasure.
The imperative in this case would be to pursue immediate pleasure with as
little effort as possible, thus aborting any sustained effort to bring about an
end to suffering.
These problems explain why the Buddha regarded questions of existence
and non-existence, self and no-self, as unskillful, inappropriate ways of at-
tending to experience.
Stress and its cessation, on the other hand, are categories that avoid these
problems. To begin with, they are immediately present and apparent. Even
babies recognize stress and pain, well before they have any concept of "self"
or "being." If one pays close attention to one’s actual experience, there is no
question about whether or not stress and its cessation are present. Finally,
because these categories don’t require that one fashion notions of "self" or
"other" – or "no-self" or "no-other" – on top of one’s immediate awareness
[§§228-230], they allow one to reach the mode of "entry into emptiness" on the
verge of non-fashioning, in which, as we mentioned in III/H (Section 18.1),
the mind simply notes, "There is this..." Thus they are ideal categories for
analyzing experience in a way that (1) reduces the confusion that causes
people to act in unskillful ways and (2) brings the mind to a point where
it can disengage and transcend all suffering and stress by ending the mental
fabrication that provides input into the causal web.
As for the imperatives implicit in the four categories of the noble truths,
they are very different from the imperatives implicit in the notion that there
is a self or that there isn’t. Stress, the first category, should be comprehended.
In practice, this means admitting its presence, recognizing it as a problem,
and then observing it with patient mindfulness so as to understand its true
nature. One comes to realize that the problem is not with the stress and
discomfort of external conditions, but with the stress and discomfort in the
322 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
mind. One also sees how stress is part of a causal process, and that it is
always accompanied by craving, its point of origination.
The second category – craving, the origination of stress – should be aban-
doned. Here we must note that the word "craving" covers not all desire, but
only the desire leading to further becoming. The desire to escape from that
becoming, as we have noted [II/D (Section 6.1)] is part of the path. With-
out such a desire, no one would have the motivation to follow the path or
reach Unbinding. When Unbinding is reached, though, even this desire is
abandoned, just as a desire to walk to a park is abandoned on arriving there
[§67].
The third category, the cessation of stress, should be realized. The defi-
nition of this truth as the abandoning of craving means that it denotes the
successful performance of the duty appropriate to the second noble truth.
This introduces a double tier into the practice, in that one must not only
abandon craving but also realize what is happening and what is uncovered
in the process of that abandoning. This, in turn, accounts for two of the
major themes covered so far in this book: the switch from "object" (crav-
ing) to "approach" (abandoning) as the focal point in one’s meditation as
one moves from the first to the second stage in frames-of-reference medita-
tion [II/B (Section 4.1)]; and the need for sensitivity to one’s present input
into the causal network in order to nurture the mind’s skillful mastery of
this/that conditionality [I/A (Section I)]. The feedback loop created by this
combination of abandoning and knowing is what eventually short-circuits the
process of this/that conditionality, cutting dependent co-arising at the links
of craving and ignorance, and leading on to the state of non-fashioning that
forms the threshold to the Deathless.
The fourth category, the way to the cessation of stress, is defined as the
noble eightfold path, which we have already discussed in detail [II/H (Sec-
tion 10.1)]. This truth must be developed. In general terms, this development
involves two processes: nurturing the conditions for clear knowing; and ab-
staining from acts of body, speech, and mind that involve craving and would
obstruct knowledge. These two processes correspond to the two layers we
have just noted in the duties associated with the cessation of stress: realizing
& abandoning. This correspondence shows the intimate relation between the
third and fourth noble truths, and explains the Buddha’s insistence that the
noble eightfold path is the only way to the goal.
Taken together, the four categories of the noble truths, along with their
imperatives, follow a basic problem-solving approach: one solves the problem
19.2. The Four Noble Truths 323
of stress by following a path of practice that directly attacks the cause of the
problem. The noble eightfold path develops the qualities of mind needed to
see that all the possible objects of craving – the five aggregates – are stressful,
inconstant, and not-self. As a result, one grows dispassionate toward them.
With nothing left to focus on, craving disbands. When one experiences the
"remainderless fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, &
letting go of that very craving" [§210], the problem is solved.
Although the texts list four separate duties appropriate to each of the
truths, in actual practice these duties are four aspects of a single process.
When stress is comprehended, the second noble truth – craving – has no
object to latch onto and so can be abandoned. The full realization of what
is happening in the process of that abandoning constitutes the realization
of the third noble truth, the cessation of stress. Both the abandoning and
the realization are accomplished by developing the path, which destroys any
trace of ignorance concerning the four noble truths at the same time that
it abandons craving. This is how the practice cuts the chain of dependent
co-arising simultaneously at its two most crucial factors [§§210-211], thus
unraveling the causal chain and opening the way for an experience of the
Unfabricated.
Passage §195 lists three steps in this process, which take the form of three
levels of knowledge concerning each of the four truths: recognizing the truth
for what it is, recognizing the duty appropriate to the truth, and realizing
that the duty has been completed. These levels of knowledge correspond to
the three stages in right view that we mentioned in the preceding section. The
first level corresponds to the stage of seeing events in and of themselves for
what they actually are. The relationship between the second level of knowl-
edge – realizing the duty appropriate to the truth – and the second stage
of right view – viewing things as part of a causal chain – is somewhat less
obvious, but more revealing once it is understood. The word "duty" makes
the point that, in order to understand the process of origination and passing
away, one must become involved in the process in an active way. This under-
standing does not come from a passive state of simply watching things arise
and disappear. Instead, one must participate in the process, becoming sensi-
tive to pre-existing causal conditions and the impact of one’s present activity
on those conditions, if one wants truly to understand them. The only way to
know a causal relationship is to tamper with it and see what happens as a
result. The more precise and skillful one’s tampering, and the more properly
attuned one’s powers of observation, the more precise the knowledge that
324 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
[II/H (Section 10.1)], in which jhana and discernment become one and the
same thing. This union of jhana and discernment solves the riddle of how one
can come to know the end of the intention that keeps the round of rebirth
in motion. As the path nears its end, the intentional activity underlying
jhana becomes the sole remaining element of intention in the mind; while
the activity of discernment, as appropriate attention aimed at understanding
jhana, becomes the sole function of knowledge. As they reach culmination
and coalesce, the attention focused on the intention and the intention behind
the act of attention short-circuit one another. All that can follow on this
point is the state of non-fashioning, in which all present input into the cycle
of rebirth ends, and all experience of the cycle falls away. As we explained in
the Introduction, the experience of this falling away at Awakening confirms
not only the Buddha’s teachings on the present function of kammic input in
this/that conditionality, but also on the functioning of kamma in the round
of rebirth in the larger dimensions of time.
The wheel, the traditional symbol of the Dhamma, expresses these points
in a visual form. The Buddha states [§195] that when he gained full knowl-
edge of all four truths on all three levels – recognizing the truth, recognizing
the duty appropriate to it, and realizing that he had fully completed that
duty – he knew that he had attained full Awakening. He elaborates on his
assertion by setting out a table of two sets of variables – the four noble truths
and the three levels of knowledge appropriate to each – listing all twelve per-
mutations of the two sets. This sort of table, in Indian legal and philosophical
traditions, is called a wheel. This is why the discourse in which he makes
this statement is called "Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion," and why
the wheel used as a symbol of the Dhamma has twelve spokes, uniting at
the hub, symbolizing the twelve permutations that merge into a singularity
– knowledge and vision of things as they actually are – at the still point of
non-fashioning in the midst of the cycle of kamma.
’In the same way, monks, those things that I have known with direct
knowledge but have not taught are far more numerous [than what I have
taught]. And why haven’t I taught them? Because they are not connected
with the goal, do not relate to the rudiments of the holy life, and do not lead
to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge,
to self-awakening, to Unbinding. That is why I have not taught them.
’And what have I taught? "This is stress... This is the origination of
stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the path of practice leading
to the cessation of stress." This is what I have taught. And why have I
taught these things? Because they are connected with the goal, relate to
the rudiments of the holy life, and lead to disenchantment, to dispassion,
to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding.
This is why I have taught them.
’Therefore your duty is the contemplation, "This is stress... This is the
origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the path of
practice leading to the cessation of stress."’
– SN LVI.31[143]
§ 189. ’Stress should be known. The cause by which stress comes into play
should be known. The diversity in stress should be known. The result of
stress should be known. The cessation of stress should be known. The path
of practice for the cessation of stress should be known.’ Thus it has been
said. Why was it said?
Birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation,
pain, distress, & despair are stressful; association with what is not loved is
stressful, separation from what is loved is stressful, not getting what is wanted
is stressful. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
And what is the cause by which stress comes into play? Craving is the
cause by which stress comes into play.
And what is the diversity in stress? There is major stress & minor, slowly
fading & quickly fading. This is called the diversity in stress.
And what is the result of stress? There are some cases in which a person
overcome with pain, his mind exhausted, grieves, mourns, laments, beats
his breast, & becomes bewildered. Or one overcome with pain, his mind
exhausted, comes to search outside, ’Who knows a way or two to stop this
pain?’ I tell you, monks, that stress results either in bewilderment or in
search.
And what is the cessation of stress? From the cessation of craving is
19.2. The Four Noble Truths 327
the cessation of stress; and just this noble eightfold path is the path of
practice leading to the cessation of stress: right view, right aspiration, right
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
concentration.
Now when a disciple of the noble ones discerns stress in this way, the
cause by which stress comes into play in this way, the diversity of stress in
this way, the result of stress in this way, the cessation of stress in this way,
& the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress in this way, then he
discerns this penetrative holy life as the cessation of stress.
’Stress should be known. The cause by which stress comes into play...
The diversity in stress... The result of stress... The cessation of stress... The
path of practice for the cessation of stress should be known.’ Thus it has
been said, and this is why it was said.
– AN VI.63[24]
§ 190. These four things are real, not unreal, not other than what they
seem. Which four?
’This is stress,’ is real, not unreal, not other than what it seems. ’This is
the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the path
of practice leading to the cessation of stress,’ is real, not unreal, not other
than what it seems.
These are the four things that are real, not unreal, not other than what
they seem.
Therefore your duty is the contemplation, ’This is stress... This is the
origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress... This is the path of
practice leading to the cessation of stress.’
– SN LVI.20
§ 191. Suppose that a man were to cut down all the grass, sticks, branches,
& leaves in India and to gather them into a heap. Having gathered them
into a heap, he would make stakes from them, and having made stakes he
would impale all the large animals in the sea on large stakes, all the medium-
sized animals in the sea on medium-sized stakes, & all the minute animals
in the sea on minute stakes. Before he had come to the end of all the sizable
animals in the sea, he would have used up all the grass, sticks, branches, &
leaves here in India. It would not be feasible for him to impale on stakes the
minute animals in the sea, which are even more numerous [than the sizable
ones]. Why is that? Because of the minuteness of their bodies. So great is
the realm of deprivation (apaya, the lower realms of being).
328 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
Freed from this great realm of deprivation is the individual who is con-
summate in his views. He discerns, as it is actually present, that ’This is
stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation of stress...
This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress.’
– SN LVI.36
§ 192. ’Monks, there is a between-the-worlds space of impenetrable darkness,
and in the murk of that darkness not even the sun & moon, so mighty, so
powerful, can spread their light.’
When this was said, a certain monk addressed the Blessed One: ’What a
great darkness, lord! What a very great darkness! Is there another darkness
greater & more fearsome than that?’
’Yes, there is...’
’What darkness...?’
’Any priests or contemplatives who do not discern, as it is actually present,
that "This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the cessation
of stress... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of stress,"
cherish the fabrications leading to birth, cherish the fabrications leading to
aging... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. Cherishing
the fabrications leading to birth... aging... death... sorrow, lamentation,
pain, distress, & despair, they fashion fabrications leading to birth... aging...
death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, and so they fall into
the darkness of birth... aging... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress
& despair. They are not released from birth... aging... death... sorrows,
lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. They are not released, I tell you,
from stress.
However, those priests or contemplatives who discern, as it is actually
present, that "This is stress... This is the origination of stress... This is the
cessation of stress... This is the path of practice leading to the cessation of
stress," do not cherish the fabrications leading to birth... aging... death.
They do not cherish the fabrications leading to sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair. They do not fashion fabrications leading to birth... ag-
ing... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair, and so do not
fall into the darkness of birth... aging... death... sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair. They are released from birth... aging... death... sorrows,
lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs. They are released, I tell you,
from stress.
Therefore your duty is the contemplation, ’This is stress... This is the
19.2. The Four Noble Truths 329
was previously unaware. In this sense, pain is like a watering hole where
all the animals in the forest – all the mind’s subconscious tendencies – will
eventually come to drink. Just as a naturalist who wants to make a survey
of the wildlife in a particular area can simply station himself near a watering
hole, in the same way, a meditator who wants to understand the mind can
simply keep watch right at pain in order to see what subconscious reactions
will appear. Thus the act of trying to comprehend pain leads not only to
an improved understanding of pain itself, but also to an increased awareness
of the most basic processes at work in the mind. As one sees how any lack
of skill in these processes, and in particular in one’s reactions to pain, leads
only to more pain, one’s mind opens to the possibility that more skillful
reactions will not only alleviate specific pains but also lead away from pain
altogether. Passage §238 shows how conviction in this possibility – which
is nothing other than the principle of kamma – leads from the experience
of stress and pain into a causal chain that cuts the bewilderment leading to
further pain and ends in total release.
Although pain is the best vantage point for observing the processes of the
mind, it is also the most difficult, simply because it is so unpleasant and hard
to bear. This is why discernment needs the faculties of conviction, persis-
tence, mindfulness, and concentration to give it the detached assurance and
steady focus needed to stick with pain in and of itself, in the phenomenolog-
ical mode, and not veer off into the usual narratives, abstract theories, and
other unskillful defenses the mind devises against the pain. Only through
the development of the five faculties into right concentration does discern-
ment have the basis of pleasure and equanimity needed to probe into pain
without feeling threatened by it, thus being able to arrive at an unbiased
understanding of its true nature.
Passage §198 shows the direction this understanding should take, ulti-
mately analyzing the wide variety of stress and pain down to five categories:
the five clinging-aggregates. Many of the remaining passages in this section
give more detailed analysis of these categories. Taken together, these pas-
sages provide a useful conceptual framework for taking on the duty of trying
to comprehend the issues surrounding stress, suffering, and pain. Here we
will first discuss the aggregates, and then their connection with clinging and
sustenance.
The five aggregates are form, feeling, perception, fabrications, and con-
sciousness. These five categories cover the entire range of experience that can
be adequately described [§231]. "Form" covers all physical phenomena, both
332 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
within one’s own body and without. The remaining four categories cover
all mental events. "Feeling" covers feelings of pleasure, pain, and neither-
pleasure-nor-pain, regardless of whether they are based on physical or mental
sensations. "Perception" denotes the mental act of applying hypertargets or
names to physical or mental events. "Fabrications" here covers the verbal
and mental processes of concocting thoughts, questions, urges, or intentions
in the mind. "Consciousness" covers the act of consciousness at any of the
six senses: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and intellect. A few texts [§§235-
36] discuss a separate type of consciousness that does not partake of any
of the six senses or their objects. This type of consciousness is said to lie
beyond the range of describable experience and so is not included under the
five aggregates. In fact, it is equivalent to the Unfabricated and forms the
goal at the end of the path.
The five aggregates, on their own, do not constitute suffering or stress.
They are stressful only when functioning as objects of clinging/sustenance.
This hybrid word – clinging/sustenance – is a translation of the Pali term
upadana. Upadana has a hybrid meaning because it is used to cover two sides
of a physical process metaphorically applied to the mind: the act of clinging
whereby a fire takes sustenance from a piece of fuel, together with the sus-
tenance offered by the fuel. On the level of the mind, upadana denotes both
the act of clinging and the object clung to, which together give sustenance
to the process whereby mental pain arises. In terms of this metaphor, pain
is hot and unstable like fire, whereas the mental act of clinging to the five
aggregates is what keeps the fire burning. These images are part of a larger
complex of imagery contained in the Pali discourses, likening the processes of
pain and its cessation to the physical processes of fire and its extinguishing.
An understanding of this imagery helps to give a graphic, intuitive sense for
the ways in which the Pali texts analyze the problem of stress and pain.
Many of the texts explicitly liken pain to a fever or to a burning, unstable
fire [§221; Thig VIII.1]. Others deal more in indirect imagery, in which the
terminology for explaining fire is applied to the mind. The word upadana
is one instance of this type of indirect imagery. Others include khandha,
or aggregate, which also means the trunk of a tree; and nibbana, the most
common name for the Buddhist goal, which also means the extinguishing of
a fire. According to the physics of the Buddha’s time, fire was "seized’ when
it was ignited. Burning, it was in a state of unstable agitation, entrapped
by the fuel to which it clung for sustenance. On going out, it was "freed."
Letting go of its sustenance, it grew cool, calm, and unbound. According
19.3. The First Truth 333
I tell you, with birth, aging, & death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains,
distresses, & despairs.
The ear is aflame. Sounds are aflame...
The nose is aflame. Aromas are aflame...
The tongue is aflame. Flavors are aflame...
The body is aflame. Tactile sensations are aflame...
The intellect is aflame. Ideas are aflame. Intellect-consciousness is aflame.
Intellect-contact is aflame. And whatever there is that arises in dependence
on intellect-contact, experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-pleasure-nor-
pain, that too is aflame. Aflame with what? Aflame with the fire of passion,
the fire of aversion, the fire of delusion. Aflame, I tell you, with birth, aging,
& death, with sorrows, lamentations, pains, distresses, & despairs.
– SN XXXV.28[121]
§ 198. Sariputta: Now what, friends, is the noble truth of stress? Birth
is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful; sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair are stressful; not getting what is wanted is stressful. In
short, the five clinging-aggregates are stressful.
Now what is birth? Whatever birth, taking birth, descent, coming-to-be,
coming-forth, appearance of aggregates, & acquisition of [sense] media of the
various beings in this or that group of beings, that is called birth.
And what is aging? Whatever aging, decrepitude, brokenness, graying,
wrinkling, decline of life-force, weakening of the faculties of the various beings
in this or that group of beings, that is called aging.
And what is death? Whatever deceasing, passing away, breaking up,
disappearance, dying, death, completion of time, break up of the aggregates,
casting off of the body, interruption in the life faculty of the various beings
in this or that group of beings, that is called death.
And what is sorrow? Whatever sorrow, sorrowing, sadness, inward sor-
row, inward sadness of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a painful
thing, that is called sorrow.
And what is lamentation? Whatever crying, grieving, lamenting, weep-
ing, wailing, lamentation of anyone suffering from misfortune, touched by a
painful thing, that is called lamentation.
And what is pain? Whatever is experienced as bodily pain, bodily dis-
comfort, pain or discomfort born of bodily contact, that is called pain.
And what is distress? Whatever is experienced as mental pain, mental
discomfort, pain or discomfort born of mental contact, that is called distress.
336 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
the edge of a green district, the edge of a road, the edge of a rocky district,
to the water’s edge, or to a lush, well-watered area, it goes out from lack of
sustenance. There comes a time when people try to make (lit. ’search for’)
fire even with a wing bone & tendon parings. And so, in the external fire
property – so vast – inconstancy will be discerned...
There comes a time when the external wind property is provoked, and
carries off village, town & city, country-side & rural area. There comes a
time when, in the last month of the hot season, they make (’search for’)
wind with a fan or a bellows, and even the grasses hanging in the drip-fringe
of the thatch do not stir. And so, in the external wind property – so vast –
inconstancy will be discerned, the principle of decay, passing-away, & change
will be discerned. So do ’me,’ ’mine,’ or ’I am’ pertain to this body – fleeting
& sustained [by craving]? All that pertains there is a ’no’...
– MN 28[73]
§ 204. Feeling. Sister Dhammadinna: There are three kinds of feel-
ing: pleasant feeling, painful feeling, & neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling...
Whatever is experienced physically or mentally as pleasant & gratifying is
pleasant feeling. Whatever is experienced physically or mentally as painful &
hurting is painful feeling. Whatever is experienced physically or mentally as
neither gratifying nor hurting is neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling... Pleas-
ant feeling is pleasant in remaining and painful in changing. Painful feeling is
painful in remaining and pleasant in changing. Neither-pleasant-nor-painful
feeling is pleasant when conjoined with knowledge and painful when devoid
of knowledge.
– MN 44[75]
§ 205. Fabrications. And what are fabrications? There are these six
classes of intention: intention aimed at sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile
sensations, & ideas. These are called fabrications.
– SN XXII.56[114]
§ 206. Three kinds of fabrications: meritorious fabrications [ripening in
pleasure], demeritorious fabrications [ripening in pain], & imperturbable fab-
rications [the formless states of jhana].
– DN 33
§ 207. Consciousness. Consciousness is classified simply by the condition
in dependence on which it arises.
When consciousness arises in dependence on eye & forms, it is classified
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 341
simply as eye-consciousness.
When consciousness arises in dependence on ear & sounds, it is classified
simply as ear-consciousness.
When consciousness arises in dependence on nose & smells, it is classified
simply as nose-consciousness.
When consciousness arises in dependence on tongue & tastes, it is classi-
fied simply as tongue-consciousness.
When consciousness arises in dependence on body & tactile sensations,
it is classified simply as body-consciousness.
When consciousness arises in dependence on intellect & ideas, it is clas-
sified simply as intellect-consciousness.
Just as fire is classified simply by the condition in dependence on which
it burns – a fire burning in dependence on logs is classified simply as a log
fire... a fire burning in dependence on rubbish is classified simply as a rubbish
fire; in the same way, consciousness is classified simply by the condition in
dependence on which it arises.
– MN 38
Craving for sensuality, here, means the desire for sensual objects. Craving for
becoming means the desire for the formation of states or realms of being that
are not currently happening, while craving for non-becoming means the desire
for the destruction or halting of any that are. "Passion and delight," here,
is apparently a synonym for the "desire and passion" for the five aggregates
that constitutes clinging/sustenance [III/H/ii (Section 19.2.1)].
Passage §210 also gives the short definition of the third noble truth:
342 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
time; the synchronic principle – (1) and (3) – connects objects and events in
the present moment. The two principles intersect, so that any given event
is influenced by two sets of conditions, those acting from the past and those
acting from the present. Because this is the pattern underlying dependent
co-arising, it is a mistake to view dependent co-arising simply as a chain
of causes strung out over time. Events in any one category of the list are
affected not only by past events in the categories that act as their conditions,
but also by the on-going, interacting presence of whole streams of events in
those categories. All categories can be present at once, and even though two
particular conditions may be separated by several steps in the list, they can
be immediately present to each other. Thus they can create the possibility for
unexpected feedback loops in the causal process. Feeling, for instance, keeps
reappearing at several stages in the process, and ignorance can contribute
to any causal link at any time. The importance of these points will become
clear when we examine how to disengage the causal network so as to realize
the third noble truth.
Because new input into the causal stream is possible at every moment,
the actual working out of this/that conditionality and dependent co-arising
can be remarkably fluid and complex. This point is borne out by the imagery
used in the Canon to illustrate these teachings. Although some non-canonical
texts depict dependent co-arising as a circle or a wheel of causes – implying
something of a mechanical, deterministic process – the Canon never uses
that image at all. Instead it likens dependent co-arising to water flowing
over land: lakes overflow, filling rivers, which in turn fill the sea [§238]; while
the tides of the sea rise, swelling the rivers, which in turn swell the lakes
[SN XII.69]. This imagery captures something of the flow of give and take
among the factors of the process. A more modern pattern that might be used
to illustrate dependent co-arising is the "strange attractor": an intricate,
interwoven pattern that chaos theory uses to describe complex, fluid systems
containing at least three feedback loops. As we will see below, the number
of feedback loops in dependent co-arising is far more than three.
The fluid complexity of dependent co-arising means that it is inherently
unstable, and thus stressful and not-self. Although some non-Theravadin
Buddhist texts insist that happiness can be found by abandoning one’s
smaller, separate identity and embracing the interconnected identity of all
interdependent things, this teaching cannot be found in the Pali Canon.
The instability of conditioned processes means that they can never provide
a dependable basis for happiness. The only true basis for happiness is the
344 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
Unfabricated. The Pali discourses are quite clear on the point that the fab-
ricated and Unfabricated realms are radically separate. In MN 1[66] the
Buddha strongly criticizes a group of monks who tried to develop a theory
whereby the fabricated was derived out of the Unfabricated or somehow lay
within it. Stress, he says, is inherent in the interdependent nature of condi-
tioned phenomena, while the Unfabricated is totally free from stress. Stress
could not possibly be produced by absolute freedom from stress. Because
the nature of conditioning is such that causes are in turn influenced by their
effects, the Unfabricated could not itself function as a cause for anything.
The only way the Unfabricated can be experienced is by using fabricated,
conditioned processes (the Wings to Awakening) to unravel the network of
fabricated, conditioned processes (dependent co-arising) from within. To do
so, one needs to know the individual factors of dependent co-arising and the
patterns in which they depend on one another.
These factors come down to the five aggregates. In fact, the entire pat-
tern of dependent co-arising is a map showing how the different aggregates
group, disband, and regroup in one another’s presence in a variety of config-
urations, giving rise to stress and to the cosmos at large [§212]. As we have
mentioned earlier, one of the most basic features of the Buddha’s teachings
is his confirmation that the knowable cosmos, composed of old kamma [§15],
is made up of the same factors that make up the personality [§213]; and that
the interaction of the aggregates, as immediately present to awareness in the
here and now, is the same process that underlies the functioning of the know-
able cosmos as a whole [§§212-15]. As a result, the descriptions of dependent
co-arising slip easily back and forth between two time scales – events in the
present moment and events over the vast cycle of time. It is important to
remember, though, that the Buddha discovered this principle by observing
events in the immediate present, which is where the individual meditator will
have to discover them as well. Thus the practice takes the same approach
as phenomenology: exploring the processes of conditioning from the inside
as they are immediately experienced in the present moment. This is why
the pattern of dependent co-arising lists factors of consciousness – such as
ignorance, attention, and intention – as prior conditions for the experience
of the physical world, for if we take as our frame of reference the world as
it is directly experienced – rather than a world conceived somehow as sep-
arate from our experience of it – we have to see the processes of the mind
as prior to the objects they process. References in the texts to the larger
frame of space and time provide examples to illustrate particularly subtle
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 345
points in the immediate present and serve as reminders that the pattern of
events observed in the present moment has implications that cover the entire
cosmos.
Given the fluid, complex nature of the basic causal principle, it should
come as no surprise that the Canon contains several variations on the list
of basic factors and configurations in dependent co-arising. Like the seven
sets in the Wings to Awakening, these different lists offer the meditator a
variety of ways to approach the complexities of the causal stream and to gain
a handle on mastering them. The most basic list is found in §228 and §231,
which give the factors – starting with the stress of aging and death, and then
working backwards – as follows:
Aging and death require birth (i.e., rebirth). If there were no birth, there
would be nothing to set in motion the processes of aging and death. Here
and in the following causal links, "birth," "aging," and "death" denote not
only the arising, decay, and passing away of the body, but also the repeated
arising, decay, and passing away of mental states, moment-by-moment in the
present. In fact, during the third watch on the night of his Awakening, the
Buddha probably focused on present mental states as his primary examples
of birth, aging, and death. From them he gained insight into how these
processes functioned in the cosmos as a whole.
Birth depends on becoming. If there were no coming-into-being of a sen-
sual realm, a realm of form, or a formless realm, there would be no locus
for rebirth. Again, these realms refer not only to levels of being on the
cosmic scale, but also to levels of mental states. Some mental states are
concerned with sensual images, others with forms (such as form jhana), and
still others with formless abstractions, such as the formless jhanas. The re-
lationship between birth and becoming can be compared to the process of
falling asleep and dreaming. As drowsiness makes the mind lose contact with
waking reality, a dream image of another place and time will appear in it.
The appearance of this image is called becoming. The act of entering into
this image and taking on a role or identity within it – and thus entering the
world of the dream and falling asleep – is birth. The commentaries maintain
that precisely the same process is what enables rebirth to follow the death of
the body. At the same time, the analogy between falling asleep and taking
birth explains why release from the cycle of becoming is called Awakening.
Becoming requires clinging/sustenance. The image here is of a fire staying
in existence by appropriating sustenance in the act of clinging to its fuel.
The process of becoming takes its sustenance from the five aggregates, while
346 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
the breath, verbal fabrication as directed thought and evaluation, and mental
fabrication as feeling and perception. Other passages [such as §225], which
seem to regard fabrications as they function over time, simply class these
three types of fabrication as to whether they are meritorious, demeritorious,
or imperturbable (i.e., pertaining to the four levels of formless jhana). If we
regard these two definitions as typical of the dual time frame of dependent
co-arising, there is no conflict between them.
Another point of disagreement is over the question of how the factors of
fabrication and ignorance came to be added to the basic list. Some scholars
maintain that this was the result of a temporal development in the Buddha’s
teachings, either during his lifetime or after his passing away. However, if we
examine the content of the added factors, we find that they are simply an
elaboration of the mutual dependence between name-and-form and sensory
consciousness, and do not add anything substantially new to the list. The
three fabrications are simply another way of presenting name-and-form in
their active role as shapers of consciousness. Bodily fabrication, the breath,
is the active element of "form"; verbal fabrications, directed thought and
evaluation, are the active element in the attention and intention sub-factors
of "name"; while mental fabrications, feeling and perception, are identical
with the feeling and perception under "name." Ignorance, on the other hand,
is the type of consciousness that actively promotes inappropriate questioning
in the verbal fabrication of evaluation, which in turn can lead to inappropriate
attention in the factor of name-and-form.
It may seem redundant to have the factors of name-and-form on the one
hand, and fabrications on the other, covering the same territory in two dif-
ferent configurations, but these configurations serve at least two practical
purposes. First, the connection between ignorance and inappropriate ques-
tioning helps to pinpoint precisely what is wrong in the typical relationship
between name-and-form and consciousness. As one modern teacher has put
it, the verbal fabrications are the ones to watch out for. Second, the re-
lationship between verbal fabrications on the one hand, and attention and
intention on the other, mediated by consciousness, diagrams the double-
tiered (and sometimes multi-tiered) relationships among mental events as
they breed and feed on one another in the presence of consciousness. In the
course of giving rise to suffering and stress, this incestuous interbreeding can
fly out of hand, leading to many complex and intense patterns of suffering.
However, its double-tiered quality can also be used – as we will see below –
to help bring that suffering to an end.
348 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
Passage §227 adds yet another factor to the list, pointing out another
way of looking at the mutually dependent relationships that feed the process
of dependent co-arising: ignorance requires the effluents (asava) of sensu-
ality, becoming, views, and ignorance, while these effluents in turn require
ignorance of the four noble truths. These added factors point to one of the
ways in which the process of dependent co-arising is self-sustaining. Sensu-
ality and views are forms of clinging/sustenance, while becoming is a result
of clinging/sustenance. Ignorance as an effluent is nowhere defined in the
discourses to differentiate it from simple ignorance, and in fact the distinc-
tion may simply be one of role, with both forms of ignorance denoting a
state of awareness out of touch with the four noble truths. When ignorance
is entwined with the feelings that result from contact, it forms the requi-
site condition for clinging/sustenance and becoming; together, all of these
factors act as impulses that "flow out" of the process and then return to
reinforce the ignorance that provides the requisite condition for fabrications,
consciousness, and name-and-form, thus fueling another round in the process
leading to further becoming and stress.
The self-sustaining nature of dependent co-arising makes it easy to see
why many non-canonical texts explain it as a wheel. However, the many
openings for feedback loops among the various factors – creating smaller
cycles within the larger cycle – make the process exceedingly complex. This
explains why stress and suffering are so bewildering. If they were a simple
cycle, there would be little or no variety to the sufferings of living beings, and
the process of suffering would be easy for everyone to predict and understand.
Some of the feedback loops that make stress so complex are explicitly
mentioned in the texts [§§227-28]. Others are implicit in the fact that par-
ticular factors – such as feeling and contact – keep re-appearing at different
points of the process of dependent co-arising. Feeling is perhaps the most
important of these. The stress that forms the final factor of dependent co-
arising can be experienced as a feeling, which can then re-enter the causal
stream at the factor of fabrications (as a mental fabrication), name-and-form
(as an instance of name), or at feeling itself. If it re-enters at feeling, it would
then directly condition further craving, which in turn would create a positive
feedback loop, leading to increased stress and pain. On the other hand, if the
stress re-enters the stream at name-and-form, it could be subjected either to
unskillful intentions and inappropriate attention, or to skillful intentions and
appropriate attention. The former pair would simply aggravate the stress
and pain, whereas the latter pair would weaken the tendency to craving, and
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 349
thus act as a negative feedback loop, alleviating the conditions that would
lead to further stress and pain or eliminating them altogether.
This shows that these feedback loops, instead of being a mere curiosity
in the formal structure of dependent co-arising, actually help to explain the
wide variations in the way living beings experience stress. They also help
explain the possibility of the cessation of stress. The elements of contact,
intention, and attention under the factor of "name" are especially important
in opening up this latter possibility. As we noted in I/A (Section I), this
is the factor of dependent co-arising that intersects with the teachings on
kamma and skillfulness. Contact – here, apparently, meaning contact with
consciousness – forms the precondition for kamma [§9]. Intention lies at the
essence of the kamma that keeps the cycle of rebirth in motion. Through
appropriate attention – the right way of looking at things and focusing on
appropriate questions about them – kamma can be trained to be skillful
and thus lead away from stress rather than toward it. For this reason, any
feedback loop that does not pass through the factor of name-and-form will
tend simply to continue the problem of stress and pain, whereas any loop that
does lead through this factor allows for the possibility for using appropriate
attention to weaken the process or disband it entirely.
In feeding the loops of dependent co-arising through the factor of name-
and-form, the factor of fabrication plays an especially important role. As
we have noted in III/E (Section 15.1), the practice of jhana focused on the
breath gathers all three forms of fabrication – bodily, verbal, and mental
– into a single whole. In doing so, it takes all the aggregates that play a
variety of roles in the pattern of dependent co-arising, and gathers them into
a configuration where appropriate attention can conveniently focus on all
their interactions at once. To express this in terms of the four noble truths,
it takes the aggregates that make up the first noble truth and gives them
a role in the fourth [III/H/i (Section 19.1)]. In this way, the double-tiered
relationship mentioned above – between name-and-form on the one hand,
and fabrications on the other – can be put to use in disbanding, rather than
compounding, the causal network leading to suffering and stress. In terms
of meditation practice, this double-tiered relationship corresponds to the five
factors of noble right concentration [§150]. The three types of fabrication
cover the same ground as the four levels of jhana, while the sub-factor of
attention under "name" forms a separate tier of mental activity that allows
one to monitor one’s practice of jhana and to develop it as a skill [II/G
(Section 9)].
350 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
As the process of developing skill becomes more and more refined, this
tier of attention turns into the fifth, reflective level of noble concentration
that allows one to analyze the state of jhana while it is present, and thus to
develop a sharpened discernment of its fabricated nature. As passage §172
shows, one begins to see that jhana is composed not only of such "fabri-
cation" sub-factors as directed thought, evaluation, feeling, and perception,
but also of sensory consciousness and such "name" factors as attention, in-
tention, and contact. In other words, the boundary line between the different
tiers of mental activity begins to break down. This allows for the conflation
of discernment and concentration noted in II/H (Section 10.1) and III/H
(Section 18.1), in which concentrated discernment begins to take its own
workings as its object. As discernment in the role of "object" short-circuits
with discernment in the role of "approach" [II/B (Section 4.1)], then contact
between the factors of name-and-form on the one hand, and sensory con-
sciousness on the other, ceases in a state of clear knowing. In the image of
Ven. Sariputta [§228], one of the two sheaves of reeds is pulled away, and the
entire edifice of suffering based on them comes tumbling down.
Another crucial point to note in understanding how to disband the work-
ings of dependent co-arising is that the relationships between particular fac-
tors and their neighbors in the list are not all the same. In some cases, factor
x is a sufficient cause for factor y. What this means is that whenever x oc-
curs, y will always have to follow. An example is the relationship between
contact and feeling, or between clinging and the remaining factors leading
up to stress. Whenever there is contact in the presence of consciousness,
there will have to be feeling. Whenever there is clinging, there will have to
be becoming and stress. Thus it is impossible to cut the process at these
links. However, there are other cases where x is a necessary cause, but not a
sufficient one, for y. In other words, x has to be present for y to occur, but
y does not have to follow every time there is x. Examples would include the
link between consciousness and name-and-form, between feeling and craving,
and between craving and clinging. In each of these cases there has to be an
added factor – the presence of ignorance, the most subtle and basic of the
roots of unskillfulness – for x to give rise to y.
This fact is what opens the way for appropriate attention to bring about
the end of suffering and stress. At the same time it determines precisely what
that way must be. An analysis of how this happens will reveal in a nutshell
the convergence of many of the themes of this book: the role of the three
levels of frames-of-reference practice [II/B (Section 4.1)], and by extension
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 351
– DHP.338[53, 338]
§ 209. Gandhabhaka: It would be good, lord, if the Blessed One would
teach me the origination & ending of stress.
The Buddha: If I were to teach you the origination & ending of stress
with reference to the past, saying, ’Thus it was in the past,’ you would be
doubtful and perplexed. If I were to teach you the origination & ending of
stress with reference to the future, saying, ’Thus it will be in the future,’ you
would be doubtful and perplexed. So instead, I – sitting right here – will
teach you sitting right there the origination & ending of stress. Listen & pay
close attention. I will speak.
Gandhabhaka: As you say, lord.
The Buddha: Now what do you think: Are there any people in Uru-
velakappa who, if they were murdered or imprisoned or fined or censured,
would cause sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, or despair to arise in you?
Gandhabhaka: Yes, there are...
The Buddha: And are there any people in Uruvelakappa who, if they
were murdered or imprisoned or fined or censured, would cause no sorrow,
lamentation, pain, distress, or despair to arise in you?
Gandhabhaka: Yes, there are...
The Buddha: Now what is the cause, what is the reason, why the mur-
der... of some would cause you sorrow... and the murder... of others would
cause you no sorrow...?
Gandhabhaka: Those... whose murder... would cause me sorrow... are
those for whom I feel desire & passion. Those... whose murder... would
cause me no sorrow... are those for whom I feel no desire or passion.
The Buddha: Now, from what you have realized, attained, plunged into
right now in the present, without regard to time, you may draw an inference
with regard to the past and future: ’Whatever stress, in arising, arose for me
in the past, all of it had desire as its root, had desire as its cause, for desire
is the cause of stress. And whatever stress, in arising, will arise for me in the
356 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
future, all of it will have desire as the root, will have desire as its cause, for
desire is the cause of stress.’
Gandhabhaka: Amazing, lord. Stupendous. How well the Blessed One
has put it: Whatever stress, in arising, arose for me in the past, all of it had
desire as its root, had desire as its cause, for desire is the cause of stress.
And whatever stress, in arising, will arise for me in the future, all of it will
have desire as the root, will have desire as its cause, for desire is the cause
of stress. I have a son, lord, named Ciravasi, who lives far away from here.
When I get up in the morning, I send a man, saying, ’Go, learn how Ciravasi
is doing.’ And as long as that man has not returned, I am simply beside
myself, [thinking], ’Don’t let Ciravasi be sick!’
The Buddha: Now, what do you think: If Ciravasi were to be murdered
or imprisoned or fined or censured, would you feel sorrow, lamentation, pain,
distress, & despair?
Gandhabhaka: If my son Ciravasi were to be murdered or imprisoned or
fined or censured, my very life would be altered. So how could I not feel
sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair?
The Buddha: ...And what do you think: Before you had seen or heard of
Ciravasi’s mother, did you feel desire, passion, or love for her?
Gandhabhaka: No, lord.
The Buddha: And after you had seen or heard of Ciravasi’s mother, did
you feel desire, passion, or love for her?
Gandhabhaka: Yes, lord.
The Buddha: Now, what do you think: If Ciravasi’s mother were to be
murdered or imprisoned or fined or censured, would you feel sorrow, lamen-
tation, pain, distress, & despair?
Gandhabhaka: If Ciravasi’s mother were to be murdered or imprisoned
or fined or censured, my very life would be altered. So how could I not feel
sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair?
The Buddha: Thus by this line of reasoning it may be realized how stress,
when arising, arises: All of it has desire as its root, has desire as its cause,
for desire is the cause of stress.
– SN XLII.11[126]
§ 210. Craving & Its Cessation. Now what is the noble truth of the
origination of stress? The craving that makes for further becoming – accom-
panied by passion & delight, relishing now here & now there – i.e., craving
for sensuality, craving for becoming, craving for non-becoming.
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 357
And where does this craving, when arising, arise? And where, when
dwelling, does it dwell? Whatever is endearing & alluring in terms of the
world: that is where this craving, when arising, arises. That is where, when
dwelling, it dwells.
And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is
endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where this craving, when
arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect...
Forms... Sounds... Smells... Tastes... Tactile sensations... Ideas...
Eye-consciousness... Ear-consciousness... Nose-consciousness... Tongue-
consciousness... Body-consciousness... Intellect-consciousness...
Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-
contact... Intellect-contact...
Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born
of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-
contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...
Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells...
Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...
Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Inten-
tion for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...
Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving
for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...
Thought directed at forms... Thought directed at sounds... Thought
directed at smells... Thought directed at tastes... Thought directed at tactile
sensations... Thought directed at ideas...
Evaluation of forms... Evaluation of sounds... Evaluation of smells...
Evaluation of tastes... Evaluation of tactile sensations... Evaluation of ideas
is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where this craving,
when arising, arises. That is where, when dwelling, it dwells.
This is called the noble truth of the origination of stress.
And what is the noble truth of the cessation of stress? The remainderless
fading & cessation, renunciation, relinquishment, release, & letting go of that
very craving.
And where, when being abandoned, is this craving abandoned? And
where, when ceasing, does it cease? Whatever is endearing & alluring in
terms of the world: that is where, when being abandoned, this craving is
abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
358 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
And what is endearing & alluring in terms of the world? The eye is
endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where, when being
abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
The ear... The nose... The tongue... The body... The intellect...
Forms... Sounds... Smells... Tastes... Tactile sensations... Ideas...
Eye-consciousness... Ear-consciousness... Nose-consciousness... Tongue-
consciousness... Body-consciousness... Intellect-consciousness...
Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-
contact... Intellect-contact...
Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born
of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-
contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...
Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells...
Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...
Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Inten-
tion for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...
Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving
for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...
Thought directed at forms... Thought directed at sounds... Thought
directed at smells... Thought directed at tastes... Thought directed at tactile
sensations... Thought directed at ideas...
Evaluation of forms... Evaluation of sounds... Evaluation of smells...
Evaluation of tastes... Evaluation of tactile sensations... Evaluation of ideas
is endearing & alluring in terms of the world. That is where, when being
abandoned, this craving is abandoned. That is where, when ceasing, it ceases.
This is called the noble truth of the cessation of stress.
– DN 22[47]
§ 211. And what is the noble method that is rightly seen & rightly ferreted
out by discernment? There is the case where a disciple of the noble ones
notices:
In other words:
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 359
pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world.
(Similarly with ear, nose, tongue, body, & intellect.)
And what is the disappearance of the world? In dependence on the eye
& forms there arises eye-consciousness. The coming together of these three
is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling
as a requisite condition comes craving. Now from the remainderless fading
& cessation of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance.
From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming.
From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the
cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress,
& despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress &
suffering. This is the disappearance of the world. (Similarly with ear, nose,
tongue, body, & intellect.)
– SN XXXV.107
§ 213. A certain monk: ’The world, the world (loko)’, it is said. To what
extent does the word ’world’ apply?
The Buddha: It disintegrates (lujjati), therefore it is called the ’world.’
Now what disintegrates? The eye disintegrates. Forms disintegrate. Eye-
consciousness disintegrates. Eye-contact disintegrates. And anything that
arises in dependence on eye contact, experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-
pleasure-nor-pain, that too disintegrates.
The ear disintegrates. Sounds disintegrate...
The nose disintegrates. Aromas disintegrate...
The tongue disintegrates. Flavors disintegrate...
The body disintegrates. Tactile sensations disintegrate...
The intellect disintegrates. Ideas disintegrate. Intellect-consciousness
disintegrates. Intellect-contact disintegrates. And anything that arises in
dependence on intellect contact, experienced as pleasure, pain, or neither-
pleasure-nor-pain, that too disintegrates.
It disintegrates, therefore it is called the ’world.’
– SN XXXV.82[122]
§ 214. Ananda: Concerning the brief statement made by the Blessed One,
after which he entered his dwelling without expounding the detailed meaning
– i.e., ’I do not say that the end of the world is to be known, seen, & reached
by traveling. But neither do I say that there is a making an end of stress
without having reached the end of the world’ – I understand the detailed
meaning of this statement to be this:
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 361
Now, when these two knowledges of the disciple of the noble ones – knowl-
edge of principle & knowledge of consistency – are pure & clear, he is called
a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, consummate in vi-
sion, attained to this true Dhamma. He is said to see this true Dhamma, to
be endowed with the knowledge of one in training, endowed with the clear
knowing of one in training, attained to the stream of the Dhamma, a person
of penetrating noble discernment who stands knocking at the door to the
Deathless.
(Similarly with the remaining links down to fabrications.)
– SN XII.33
§ 216. Sariputta: Now, the Blessed One has said, ’Whoever sees dependent
co-arising sees the Dhamma; whoever sees the Dhamma sees dependent co-
arising.’
– MN 28[73]
§ 217. I will teach you dependent co-arising & dependently co-arisen phe-
nomena. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak...
Now what is dependent co-arising? From birth as a requisite condition
comes aging & death. Whether or not there is the arising of Tathagatas,
this property stands – this regularity of the Dhamma, this orderliness of the
Dhamma, this this/that conditionality. The Tathagata directly awakens to
that, breaks through to that. Directly awakening & breaking through to that,
he declares it, teaches it, describes it, sets it forth. He reveals it, explains
it, makes it plain, & says, ’Look.’ From birth as a requisite condition comes
aging & death.
(Similarly down through the causal stream to:)
From ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. Whether or
not there is the arising of Tathagatas, this property stands – this regularity of
the Dhamma, this orderliness of the Dhamma, this this/that conditionality.
The Tathagata directly awakens to that, breaks through to that. Directly
awakening & breaking through to that, he declares it, teaches it, describes it,
sets it forth. He reveals it, explains it, makes it plain, & says, ’Look.’ From
ignorance as a requisite condition come fabrications. What’s there in this
way is a reality, not an unreality, not other than what it seems, conditioned
by this/that. This is called dependent co-arising.
And what are dependently co-arisen phenomena? Aging & death are
dependently co-arisen phenomena: inconstant, compounded, dependently co-
arisen, subject to ending, subject to passing away, subject to fading, subject
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 363
medium, the intellect-medium. These are called the six sense media.
And what is name-&-form? Feeling, perception, intention, contact, &
attention: This is called name. The four great elements, and the form de-
pendent on the four great elements: This is called form. This name & this
form are called name-&-form.
And what is consciousness? These six are classes of consciousness: eye-
consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness,
body-consciousness, intellect-consciousness. This is called consciousness.
And what are fabrications? These three are fabrications: bodily fabrica-
tions, verbal fabrications, mental fabrications. These are called fabrications.
And what is ignorance? Not knowing stress, not knowing the origination
of stress, not knowing the cessation of stress, not knowing the way of practice
leading to the cessation of stress: This is called ignorance.
– SN XII.2[101]
§ 219. When a fool is obstructed by ignorance and conjoined with craving,
this body thus results. Now there is both this body and external name-&-
form. Here, in dependence on this duality, there is contact at the six senses.
Touched by these, or one or another of them, the fool is sensitive to pleasure
& pain. When a wise person is obstructed by ignorance and conjoined with
craving, this body thus results. Now there is both this body and external
name-&-form. Here, in dependence on this duality, there is contact at the
six senses. Touched by these, or one or another of them, the wise person is
sensitive to pleasure & pain. Now what is the difference... here between the
wise person & the fool?...
In the wise person that ignorance has been abandoned and that craving
has been destroyed. Why is that? The wise person has practiced the holy
life for the right ending of stress. Therefore, at the break-up of the body, he
is not headed for a [new] body. Not headed for a body, he is entirely freed
from birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair. I
tell you, he is entirely freed from stress.
– SN XII.19[103]
§ 220. Becoming. Ananda: This word, ’becoming, becoming’ – to what
extent is there becoming?
The Buddha: If there were no kamma ripening in the property of sensu-
ality, 0would sensual becoming be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 365
The Buddha: Thus kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and crav-
ing the moisture. The consciousness of living beings hindered by ignorance &
fettered by craving is established in (tuned to) a lower element. Thus there
is the production of renewed becoming in the future. If there were no kamma
ripening in the property of form, would form becoming be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and crav-
ing the moisture. The consciousness of living beings hindered by ignorance
& fettered by craving is established in (tuned to) a middling element. Thus
there is the production of renewed becoming in the future. If there were no
kamma ripening in the property of formlessness, would formless becoming be
discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus kamma is the field, consciousness the seed, and crav-
ing the moisture. The consciousness of living beings hindered by ignorance
& fettered by craving is established in (tuned to) a refined element. Thus
there is the production of renewed becoming in the future. This is how there
is becoming.
AN III.76
(The discourse immediately following this is identical to this except that
the phrase, ’the consciousness of living beings... is established,’ changes to,
’the intention & determination of living beings... is established.’)
– AN III.77
§ 221. I have heard that on one occasion, when the Blessed One was newly
Awakened – living at Uruvela by the banks of the Nerañjara River in the
shade of the Bodhi tree, the tree of Awakening – he sat in the shade of the
Bodhi tree for seven days in one session, sensitive to the bliss of release. At
the end of seven days, after emerging from that concentration, he surveyed
the world with the eye of an Awakened One. As he did so, he saw living
beings burning with the many fevers and aflame with the many fires born of
passion, aversion, & delusion. Then, on realizing the significance of that, he
on that occasion exclaimed:
This world is burning.
Afflicted by contact,
it calls disease a ’self.’
By whatever it construes [things],
that is always otherwise.
366 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
Becoming otherwise,
the world is
held by becoming
afflicted by becoming
and yet delights
in that very becoming.
Where there’s delight,
there is fear.
What one fears
is stressful.
This holy life is lived
for the abandoning of becoming.
within. He discerns that ’Birth is ended, the holy life fulfilled, the task done.
There is nothing further for this world.’
Sensing a feeling of pleasure, he discerns that it is fleeting, not grasped
at, not relished. Sensing a feeling of pain... Sensing a feeling of neither-
pleasure-nor-pain, he discerns that it is fleeting, not grasped at, not relished.
Sensing a feeling of pleasure, he senses it disjoined from it. Sensing a feeling
of pain... Sensing a feeling of neither-pleasure-nor-pain, he senses it disjoined
from it. When sensing a feeling limited to the body, he discerns that ’I am
sensing a feeling limited to the body.’ When sensing a feeling limited to life,
he discerns that ’I am sensing a feeling limited to life.’ He discerns that ’With
the break-up of the body, after the termination of life, all that is experienced,
not being relished, will grow cold right here, while the corpse will remain.’
Just as if a man, having removed a heated jar from a kiln, were to place
it on level ground: Any heat in the jar would subside right there, while the
fired clay would remain. In the same way, when sensing a feeling limited
to the body, he discerns that ’I am sensing a feeling limited to the body.’
When sensing a feeling limited to life, he discerns that ’I am sensing a feeling
limited to life.’ He discerns that ’With the break-up of the body, after the
termination of life, all that is experienced, not being relished, will grow cold
right here, while the corpse will remain.’
How do you construe this, monks? Would a monk whose effluents were
ended fabricate a meritorious or a demeritorious or an imperturbable fabri-
cation?
No, lord.
With the total non-existence of fabrications, from the cessation of fabri-
cations, would consciousness be discernible (manifest)?
No, lord.
(And similarly down to:) With the total non-existence of birth, from the
cessation of birth, would aging & death be discernible?
No, lord.
Very good, monks. Just so should you construe it. Just so should you
be convinced. Just so should you believe. Do not be doubtful, do not be
uncertain. This, just this, is the end of stress.
– SN XII.51
§ 226. What is willed, what is arranged, and what lies latent: This is a
support for the stationing of consciousness. There being a support, there is
a landing (or: an establishing) of consciousness. When that consciousness
370 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
lands and grows, there is the production of renewed becoming in the future.
When there is the production of renewed becoming in the future, there is
future birth, aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair.
Such is the origination of this entire mass of stress.
If nothing is willed, if nothing is arranged, but something lies latent: This
is a support for the stationing of consciousness... Such [too] is the origination
of this entire mass of stress.
But when nothing is willed, arranged, or lies latent, there is no support for
the stationing of consciousness. There being no support, there is no landing
of consciousness. When that consciousness does not land & grow, there is no
production of renewed becoming in the future. When there is no production
of renewed becoming in the future, there is no future birth, aging & death,
sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, or despair. Such is the cessation of this
entire mass of stress.
– SN XII.38[107]
§ 227. Sariputta: Now what is ignorance, what is the origination of igno-
rance, what is the cessation of ignorance, and what is the way of practice
leading to the cessation of ignorance?
Not knowing stress, not knowing the origination of stress, not knowing the
cessation of stress, not knowing the way of practice leading to the cessation of
stress: This is called ignorance. From the origination of effluents comes the
origination of ignorance. From the cessation of effluents comes the cessation
of ignorance. And just this noble eightfold path is the way of practice leading
to the cessation of ignorance...
Now when a disiciple of the noble ones discerns ignorance in this way,
discerns the origination of ignorance in this way, discerns the cessation of
ignorance in this way, & discerns the way of practice leading to the cessation
of ignorance in this way, then – having entirely abandoned the obsession with
passion, having abolished the obsession with resistance, having uprooted the
obsession with the view & conceit ’I am,’ having abandoned ignorance, having
given rise to clear knowing – he puts an end to stress in the here & now. It
is to this extent that the disiciple of the noble ones is a person of right
view, his views straightened, endowed with perfect confidence in regard to
the Dhamma, having arrived at this true Dhamma...
Now what are effluents, what is the origination of effluents, what is the
cessation of effluents, and what is the way of practice leading to the cessation
of effluents?
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 371
These three are effluents: the effluent of sensuality, the effluent of becom-
ing, the effluent of ignorance. From the origination of ignorance comes the
origination of effluents. From the cessation of ignorance comes the cessation
of effluents. And just this noble eightfold path is the way of practice leading
to the cessation of effluents...
Now when a disiciple of the noble ones discerns the effluents in this way,
discerns the origination of effluents in this way, discerns the cessation of
effluents in this way, & discerns the way of practice leading to the cessation
of effluents in this way, then – having entirely abandoned the obsession with
passion, having abolished the obsession with resistance, having uprooted the
obsession with the view & conceit ’I am,’ having abandoned ignorance, having
given rise to clear knowing – he puts an end to stress in the here & now. It
is to this extent that the disiciple of the noble ones is a person of right
view, his views straightened, endowed with perfect confidence in regard to
the Dhamma, having arrived at this true Dhamma.
– MN 9[68]
§ 228. Maha Kotthita: Now tell me, Sariputta my friend: Are aging & death
self-made or other-made or both self-made & other-made, or – without self-
making or other-making – do they arise spontaneously?
Sariputta: It’s not the case, Kotthita my friend, that aging & death are
self-made, that they are other-made, that they are both self-made & other-
made, or that – without self-making or other-making – they arise sponta-
neously. However, from birth as a requisite condition comes aging & death.
(Similarly with birth, becoming, clinging/sustenance, craving, feeling,
contact, the six sense media, down to:)
Maha Kotthita: Now tell me: Is name-&-form self-made or other-made
or both self-made & other-made, or – without self-making or other-making
– does it arise spontaneously?
Sariputta: It’s not the case that name-&-form are self-made, that it is
other-made, that it is both self-made & other-made, or that – without self-
making or other-making – it arises spontaneously. However, from conscious-
ness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form.
Maha Kotthita: Now tell me: is consciousness self-made or other-made
or both self-made & other-made, or – without self-making or other-making,
does it arise spontaneously?
Sariputta: It’s not the case that consciousness is self-made, that it is
other-made, that it is both self-made & other-made, or that – without self-
372 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
ing & not penetrating this Dhamma that this generation is like a tangled
skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes & reeds, and does not go
beyond the cycle of the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations...
’From birth as a requisite condition come aging & death.’ Thus it has
been said. And this is the way to understand how from birth as a requisite
condition come aging & death. If there were no birth at all, in any way,
of anything anywhere... in the utter absence of birth from the cessation of
birth, would aging & death be discerned?’
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus this is a cause, this is a reason, this is an origination,
this is a requisite condition for aging & death, i.e., birth. (Similarly for the
rest of the stream of requisite conditions down to contact.)
’From name-&-form as a requisite condition comes contact. Thus it has
been said. And this is the way to understand how, from name-&-form as
a requisite condition comes contact. If the qualities, traits, themes, & indi-
cators by which there is a description of name-group (mental activity) were
all absent, would designation-contact with regard to the form-group (the
physical body) be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: If the permutations, signs, themes, & indicators by which
there is a description of form-group were all absent, would resistance-contact
with regard to the name-group be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: If the permutations, signs, themes, & indicators by which
there is a description of name-group & form-group were all absent, would
designation-contact or resistance-contact be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus this is a cause, this is a reason, this is an origination,
this is a requisite condition for contact, i.e., name-&-form.
’From consciousness as a requisite condition comes name-&-form.’ Thus it
has been said. And this is the way to understand how from consciousness as a
requisite condition comes name-&-form. If consciousness were not to descend
into the mother’s womb, would name-&-form take shape in the womb?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: If, after descending into the womb, consciousness were to
depart, would name-&-form be produced for this world?
Ananda: No, lord.
19.4. The Second & Third Truths 375
The Buddha: If the consciousness of the young boy or girl were to be cut
off, would name-&-form ripen, grow, & reach maturity?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus this is a cause, this is a reason, this is an origination,
this is a requisite condition for name-&-form, i.e., consciousness.
’From name-&-form as a requisite condition comes consciousness.’ Thus
it has been said. And this is the way to understand how from name-&-form
as a requisite condition comes consciousness. If consciousness were not to
gain a foothold in name-&-form, would a coming-into-play of the origination
of birth, aging, death, & stress in the future be discerned?
Ananda: No, lord.
The Buddha: Thus this is a cause, this is a reason, this is an origination,
this is a requisite condition for consciousness, i.e., name-&-form.
This is the extent to which there is birth, aging, death, passing away,
& re-arising. This is the extent to which there are means of designation,
expression, & description. This is the extent to which the sphere of dis-
cernment extends, the extent to which the cycle revolves for the manifesting
(discernibility) of this world – i.e., name-&-form together with consciousness.
– DN 15[44]
§ 232. It is in dependence on a pair that consciousness comes into play.
And how does consciousness come into play in dependence on a pair? In
dependence on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The eye is
inconstant, changeable, of a nature to become otherwise. Forms are incon-
stant, changeable, of a nature to become otherwise. Thus this pair is both
fleeting & unsettled – inconstant, changeable, of a nature to become oth-
erwise. Eye-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, of a nature to become
otherwise. Whatever is the cause, the requisite condition, for the arising
of eye-consciousness, that is inconstant, changeable, of a nature to become
otherwise. Having arisen in dependence on an inconstant factor, how could
eye-consciousness be constant? (Similarly with the ear, nose, tongue, body,
& intellect.)
– SN XXXV.93
§ 233. One attached is unreleased; one unattached is released. Should
consciousness, when taking a stance, stand attached to [a physical] form,
supported by form [as its object], established on form, watered with delight, it
would exhibit growth, increase, & proliferation. Should consciousness, when
taking a stance, stand attached to feeling... to perception... to fabrications...
376 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
– DN 11[43]
§ 236.
’Or he doesn’t assume form to be the self, but he assumes the self as
possessing form... form as in the self... self as in form... or feeling to be
the self... the self as possessing feeling... feeling as in the self... self as in
feeling... or perception to be the self... the self as possessing perception...
perception as in the self... self as in perception... or fabrications to be the
self... the self as possessing fabrications... fabrications as in the self... self
as in fabrications... or consciousness to be the self... the self as possessing
consciousness... consciousness as in the self... self as in consciousness.
’Now that assumption is a fabrication. What is the cause... of that fab-
rication? To an uninstructed, run-of-the-mill person, touched by the feeling
born of contact with ignorance, craving arises. That fabrication is born of
that. And that fabrication is inconstant, fabricated, dependently co-arisen.
That craving... That feeling... That contact... That ignorance is inconstant,
fabricated, dependently co-arisen. It is by knowing & seeing in this way that
one without delay puts an end to the effluents.
’Or... he may have a view such as this: "This self is the same as the
cosmos. This I will be after death, constant, lasting, eternal, not subject to
change." This eternalist view is a fabrication... Or... he may have a view
such as this: "I would not be, neither would there be what is mine. I will
not be, neither will there be what is mine." This annihilationist view is a
fabrication... Or... he may be doubtful & uncertain, having come to no
conclusion with regard to the true Dhamma. That doubt, uncertainty, &
coming-to-no-conclusion is a fabrication.
What is the cause... of that fabrication? To an uninstructed, run-of-
the-mill person, touched by what is felt born of contact with ignorance,
craving arises. That fabrication is born of that. And that fabrication is
inconstant, fabricated, dependently co-arisen. That craving... That feeling...
That contact... That ignorance is inconstant, fabricated, dependently co-
arisen. It is by knowing & seeing in this way that one without delay puts an
end to the effluents.
– SN XXII.81[117]
§ 238. The ending of the effluents is for one who knows & sees, I tell you,
not for one who does not know & does not see. For one who knows what &
sees what?...’Such is form, such its origination, such its disappearance. Such
is feeling... Such is perception... Such are fabrications... Such is conscious-
ness, such its origination, such its disappearance.’ The ending of the effluents
is for one who knows in this way & sees in this way. [§§30; 149; 170; 173;
380 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
199-207]
The knowledge of ending in the presence of ending has its prerequisite,
I tell you. It is not without a prerequisite. And what is its prerequisite?
Release... Release has its prerequisite, I tell you. It is not without a pre-
requisite. And what is its prerequisite? Dispassion... Disenchantment...
Knowledge & vision of things as they actually are present... Concentration...
Pleasure... Serenity... Rapture... Joy... Conviction... Stress... Birth... Be-
coming... Clinging... Craving... Feeling... Contact... The six sense media...
Name-&-form... Consciousness... Fabrications... Fabrications have their pre-
requisite, I tell you. They are not without a prerequisite. And what is their
prerequisite? Ignorance...
Just as when the gods pour rain in heavy drops & crash thunder on
the upper mountains: The water, flowing down along the slopes, fills the
mountain clefts & rifts & gullies. When the mountain clefts & rifts & gullies
are full, they fill the little ponds. When the little ponds are full, they fill the
big lakes... the little rivers... the big rivers. When the big rivers are full,
they fill the great ocean. In the same way:
– SN XII.23[105]
speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right
concentration... I followed that path. Following it, I came to direct knowledge
of aging & death, direct knowledge of the origination of aging & death, direct
knowledge of the cessation of aging & death, direct knowledge of the path
leading to the cessation of aging & death. I followed that path. Following
it, I came to direct knowledge of birth... becoming... clinging... craving...
feeling... contact... the six sense media... name-&-form... consciousness,
direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of
the cessation of consciousness, direct knowledge of the path leading to the
cessation of consciousness. I followed that path.
Following it, I came to direct knowledge of fabrications, direct knowledge
of the origination of fabrications, direct knowledge of the cessation of fabri-
cations, direct knowledge of the path leading to the cessation of fabrications.
Knowing that directly, I have revealed it to monks, nuns, male lay follow-
ers & female lay followers, so that this holy life has become powerful, rich,
detailed, well-populated, wide-spread, proclaimed among celestial & human
beings.
– SN XII.65[109]
§ 240. Now at that time Subhadda the Wanderer was staying in Kusinara.
He heard, ’Tonight, in the last watch of the night, the total Unbinding of
Gotama the contemplative will take place.’ Then this thought occurred to
him: ’I have heard the elder wanderers, teachers of teachers, saying that
only once in a long, long time do Tathagatas – worthy ones, rightly self-
awakened – appear in the world. Tonight, in the last watch of the night, the
total Unbinding of Gotama the contemplative will take place. Now there is
a doubt that has arisen in me, but I have faith that he could teach me the
Dhamma in such a way that I might abandon that doubt.’
So he went to the Mallan Sal Tree grove and, on arrival, said to Ven.
Ananda, ’I have heard the elder wanderers, teachers of teachers, saying that
only once in a long, long time do Tathagatas – worthy ones, rightly self-
awakened – appear in the world. Tonight, in the last watch of the night, the
total Unbinding of Gotama the contemplative will take place. Now there is
a doubt that has arisen in me, but I have faith that he could teach me the
Dhamma in such a way that I might abandon that doubt. It would be good,
Ven. Ananda, if you would let me see him.’
When this was said, Ven. Ananda said to him, ’Enough, friend Subhadda.
Do not bother the Blessed One. The Blessed One is tired.’
384 Chapter 19. Discernment: Right View
For a second time... For a third time, Subhadda the Wanderer said to
Ven. Ananda, ’...It would be good, Ven. Ananda, if you would let me see
him.’
For a third time, Ven. Ananda said to him, ’Enough, friend Subhadda.
Do not bother the Blessed One. The Blessed One is tired.’
Now, the Blessed One heard the exchange between Ven. Ananda & Sub-
hadda the Wanderer, and so he said to Ven. Ananda, ’Enough, Ananda. Do
not stand in his way. Let him see the Tathagata. Whatever he asks me will
all be for the sake of knowledge, and not to be bothersome. And whatever I
answer when asked, he will quickly understand.’
So Ven. Ananda said to Subhadda the Wanderer, ’Go ahead, friend
Subhadda. The Blessed One gives you his leave.’
Then Subhadda went to the Blessed One and exchanged courtesies, and
after the exchange of courtesies sat to one side. As he was sitting there, he
said to the Blessed One, ’Lord, these priests & contemplatives, each with his
group, each with his community, each the teacher of his group, an honored
leader, well-regarded by people at large – i.e., Purana Kassapa, Makkhali
Gosala, Ajita Kesakambalin, Pakudha Kaccayana, Sañjaya Belatthaputta,
& the Nigantha Nataputta: Do they all have direct knowledge as they them-
selves claim, or do they all not have direct knowledge, or do some of them
have direct knowledge and some of them not?’
’Enough, Subhadda. Put this question aside. I will teach you the Dhamma.
Listen, and pay close attention. I will speak.’
’Yes, lord,’ Subhadda answered, and the Blessed One said, ’In any doc-
trine & discipline where the noble eightfold path is not found, no contem-
plative of the first... second... third... fourth order [stream-winner, once-
returner, non-returner, or Arahant] is found. But in any doctrine & disci-
pline where the noble eightfold path is found, contemplatives of the first...
second... third... fourth order are found. The noble eightfold path is found
in this doctrine & discipline, and right here there are contemplatives of the
first... second... third... fourth order. Other teachings are empty of knowl-
edgeable contemplatives. And if the monks dwell rightly, this world will not
be empty of Arahants.
– DN 16[45]
Glossary
Pali-English
Abhidhamma: (1) In the discourses of the Pali Canon, this term simply
means "higher Dhamma," and a systematic attempt to define the Buddha’s
teachings and understand their interrelationships. (2) A later collection of
analytical treatises based on lists of categories drawn from the teachings in
the discourses, added to the Canon several centuries after the Buddha’s life.
Arahant: A "worthy one" or "pure one;" a person whose mind is free
of defilement and thus is not destined for further rebirth. A title for the
Buddha and the highest level of his noble disciples.
Asava: Effluent; fermentation. Four qualities – sensuality, views, be-
coming, and ignorance – that "flow out" of the mind and create the flood of
the round of death and rebirth.
Bodhisatta: "A being (striving) for Awakening;" the term used to de-
scribe the Buddha before he actually became Buddha, from his first aspi-
ration to Buddhahood until the time of his full Awakening. Sanskrit form:
Bodhisattva.
Deva: Literally, "shining one." An inhabitant of the heavenly realms.
Dhamma: (1) Event; a phenomenon in and of itself; (2) mental quality;
(3) doctrine, teaching; (4) nibbana. Sanskrit form: Dharma.
Hinayana: "Inferior Vehicle," a pejorative term – coined by a group
who called themselves followers of the Mahayana, the "Great Vehicle" –
to denote the path of practice of those who adhered only to the earliest dis-
courses as the word of the Buddha. Hinayanists refused to recognize the later
discourses, composed by the Mahayanists, that claimed to contain teachings
that the Buddha felt were too deep for his first generation of disciples, and
which he thus secretly entrusted to underground serpents. The Theravada
school of today is a descendent of the Hinayana.
387
388 Chapter 19. Glossary
English-Pali
Although I have tried to be as consistent as possible in rendering Pali terms
into English, there are a few cases where a single English term will not do
justice to all the meanings of a Pali term. Although the rule of one English
equivalent per one Pali word makes for consistency, any truly bilingual per-
son will know that such a rule can create ludicrous distortions of meaning
in translation. Thus, while I have not consciously used one English term to
translate two different Pali terms, there are cases where I have found it neces-
sary to render a single Pali term with two or more English terms, depending
on context. Citta in some cases is rendered as mind, in others as intent.
Similarly, loka is rendered either as cosmos or world, manas as intellect or
heart, ayatana as medium or sphere, upadana as clinging or sustenance, and
dhamma as phenomenon, quality, or principle.
Also, with some of the Pali terms that play a central role in explaining the
teaching, I have chosen equivalents that do not follow general usage. In the
following list I have indicated these equivalents with asterisks; explanations
for these choices are provided at the end of the list.
acquisition – upadhi
aggregate – khandha
alertness – sampajañña
appropriate attention – yoniso manasikara
Awakening – bodhi
awareness – cetas
becoming – bhava
clear knowing – vijja
clinging – upadana
390 Chapter 19. Glossary
compounded – sankhata
concern – ottappa
conscience – hiri
contemplative – samana
conviction – saddha
cosmos – loka
craving – tanha
dependent co-arising – paticca samuppada
desire – chanda
dimension – ayatana
directed thought – vitakka
discern – pajanati
discernment – pañña
discrimination – vimamsa
disenchantment – nibbida
dispassion – viraga
effluent – asava
emptiness – suññata
evaluation – vicara
fabricated – sankhata
fabrication – sankhara
fetter – sanyojana
frame of reference* – satipatthana
gnosis – añña
good will – metta
heart – manas
inconstant* – anicca
insight – vipassana
intellect – manas
intent – citta
intention – cetana
letting go – vossagga
medium – ayatana
mind – citta
non-fashioning – atammayata
not-self – anatta
origination – samudaya
perception – sañña
391
persistence – viriya
pertinent – opanayika
phenomenon – dhamma
prerequisite – upanisa
property – dhatu
quality – dhamma
release – vimutti
relinquishment – patinissagga
requisite condition – paccaya
resolve – sankappa
self-awakening – sambodhi
sensuality – kama
skillful – kusala
stream-entry – sotipatti
stress* – dukkha
Such – tadi
sustenance – upadana
theme – nimitta
this/that conditionality – idappaccayata
tranquillity – samatha
transcendent – lokuttara
transmigration – samsara
Unbinding* – nibbana
Unfabricated – asankhata
world – loka
1. Index of Similes
2. Index of Persons
3. Index of Subjects
Index of Similes
Note: Numbers refer to the translated passages (§) from the Canon.
Acrobat: 47
Ancient city: 239
Archer: 173
Baby boy: 61
Ball of saliva: 181
Ball of sealing wax: 142
Banyan tree: 128
Bathman: 150
Beauty queen: 40
Borrowed goods: 138
Bowl of water: 133
Bronze bowl: 57
Butcher: 30
Carpenter: 159
Carpenter’s adze: 20
Cat: 157
Chain of bones: 138
Chariot: 150
City made of bones: 140
393
394 Chapter 19. Indexes
Cook: 35
Cowherd: 1
Dream: 138
Drops of water on heated iron pan: 60; 181
Drops of water on lotus leaf: 181
Earth: 180
Elephant: 33; 157; 163
Field: 220
Fire: 97; 180; 207
Fletcher: 59
Footprint of elephant: 79
Fruits of a tree: 138
Goldsmith: 182
Grass torch: 138
Guest house: 112
Hawk and quail: 37
Heated jar: 225
Hen and eggs: 20
House with windows: 234
Impenetrable darkness: 192
Impurities in gold: 132; 160
Insects falling into flame: 135
Iron ball: 68
Island in middle of river: 91
Ivory carver: 64
Ladle in soup: III/A
Leaves in hand: 188
Leper: 139
Light of moon: 79
Lotuses in pond: 150
Lump of flesh: 138
Man going from village to village: 64
Man holding quail: 161
Man in debt: 134
Man in love with woman: 59
Man in prison: 134
Man stabbed by spears: 193
Man standing on tall building: 64
395
Index of Persons
Note: Numbers refer to the translated passages (§) from the Canon.
Ajita Kesakambalin: 240
Ananda, Ven.: 36; 48 48; 64; 67; 68; 115; 152; 166; 174; 176; 181; 214; 220;
231; 237; 240
Anathapindika: 135; 187
Anuruddha, Ven.: 45; 161; 167
Bodhisatta: 1; 161; 239
Brahma: 124; 177
397
Index of Subjects
Note: Numbers refer to the page numbers from the 1996 printed edition of
the book; the numbers in parentheses (§) refer to the translated passages
from the Canon.
• Ajivakas: 4
– attainment of, 68 (§22), 151 (§86), 152 (§88), 253 (§167), 340
– factors leading to, 138, 152, 248ff., 252 (§166)
– qualities of arahant, 135 (§67), 151 (§87), 183 (§106), 188, 232
• Astronomy: 3, 21, 59
– as “tuning” the factors, 107, 117 (§58), 126, 132 (§66), 138, 143
(§74), 150 (§86), 172 (§99);
• Causality: vii;
• Commentaries: v, ix;
• Consciousness: 23, 42, 290, 292ff. (§197), 298 (§207), 302, 303ff.,
307ff., (314 (§210) , (320 (§218), 321 (§220), 325 (§225), 331 §232
• Conviction: 39, 137ff., 140ff.(§71, §72, etc.), 173, 188ff. (Section III),
205;
• Doubt: 33 (§2), 71 (§25), 110 (§51), 143 (§74), 191, 312 (§209), 326
(§225), 335 (§237), 339 (§240);
• Effluents (asava): 4, 6ff., 32, 43, 109ff. (§51), 124, 130 (§64), 180
(§106), 230, 231, 256 (§173), 305
– as categories for analysis, 19, 24, 28, 47, 89 (§30), 159, 191
• Friendship with admirable people: 28, 29, 69 (§23), 113 (§53), 140
(§70), 189, 190, 195 (§115), 196 (§117)
• Heavens & hells 32, 46, 49ff. (§9), 53 (§11), 130 (§64), 193, 198
(§122), 199 (§124), 202 (§128), 278
see also Kamma
• Jhana: 114 (§55), 122 (§61), 125, 139 (§69), 140 (§72), 142 (§73), 223ff.
(Section 15.1);
• Kamma: i, 7ff.;
• Lokayatans: 4, 21
• Mandelbrot set: 41
• Meditation techniques:
• Metaphysics: 14, 46
• Noble eightfold path: abandoned upon reaching the goal, 175, 186
(§113);
• Non-fashioning: 9, 25, 64, 79, 139, 160, 173, 232, 263, 265 (§179),
270 (§183), 271ff., 274, 283, 308ff.;
• Non-returning: 64, 90 (§30), 174, 203 (§130), 230ff., 248ff., 340 (§240)
• Not-self: 70 (§23), 110 (§51), 157, 159, 232, 256 (§172), 280
• Number symbolism: 59
• Phenomenology: vi;
– as focal point for practice, 15, 19, 26, 40, 61, 302;
– and entry into emptiness, 282ff.;
• Reason: 17
• Restraint: 49 (§9), 52 (§11), 67ff. (§22), 98ff. (§39), 106, 108 (§50),
110ff., 161 (§92)
• Samana: 3;
• Sarvastivadin Canon: v, 74
• Shamanism: 3, 6
– factors leading to, 58, 137ff., 140 (§70), 188, 191, 193ff., 231, 248;
– qualities of stream-winner, 140 (§71), 183 (§107), 190, 192, 193ff.
• Supranormal powers: 124, 127ff., 128 (§64), 133 (§66), 135 (§68),
230, 250
• Unbinding: 2, 5ff., 9;
– as health, 16;
– fire imagery of, 6, 311;
– knowledge of, 44ff.;
– of the Buddha, 19;
• Unfabricated realm: 6, 9, 12, 14, 18, 64, 125, 263, 274, 282ff., 301,
310;
• Upanishads: 4
• Vinaya: 19, 84
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